Weak wind hits Innogy earnings

Earnings from Innogy’s renewables division fell 18% to €671m last year, compared with €818m in 2015.

The German energy company said the main reason for the drop was low wind levels – particularly in the second half of the year – in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Wind generation was down to 7000 gigawatt hours in 2016 from 7500 GWh the previous year, despite capacity rising to 2.83GW from 2.75GW. 

Total renewables capacity at the company increased to almost 3.38GW from 3.28GW, with hydro (539MW) accounting for the majority of the remainder.

Wind generated 65% of the Innogy’s electricity output last year, 26% came from run-of-river hydro and 2% from biomass and photovoltaic plants.

Innogy added that earnings in 2015 were also boosted by the sale of shares in the 336MW Galloper offshore wind farm and the disposal of the network infrastructure of the 576MW Gwynt y Môr offshore project.

Capital spending decreased to €2.12bn in 2016, down from €2.19bn the previous year. This was mainly down to a 40% drop in renewables to €242m from €404m, as a result of the completion of the Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farms in 2015.

Innogy chief executive Peter Terium said the company expects the renewables division to “close fiscal 2017 on a par with last year’s level”.

Overall, Innogy’s earnings in 2016 were down 7% to €4.2bn from €4.5bn in 2015.

Image: Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm (RWE)