The Nordex Group and innogy SE, both based in Germany, signed a contract at the end of 2018 for the supply of six N131/3900 turbines for two onshore wind projects in the U.S. state of New York on the basis of a so-called 'Safe Harbor' agreement, Nordex announced Tuesday.
According to the company's statement, the term 'Safe Harbor' describes the possibility of securing production tax credits in the North American market on current terms and conditions – in this case from 2018 – by buying a part of the total components required at an early stage.
As part of the agreement, Nordex will supply wind turbines for innogy’s 126-megawatt (MW) Cassadaga and 24-MW Baron Winds projects.
Furthermore, the two companies enjoyed a joint success in the first onshore auction in Poland in November with the 33-MW Zukowice project in Lower Silesia, Nordex said, and added that innogy would shortly be making its investment decision on this. The group is expecting to receive the order for this project in the second half of 2019.
According to the statement, within the framework of a strategic partnership agreed in October 2018, innogy plans to optimize its project pipeline in Europe and the U.S. between 2019 and 2022 together with the Nordex Group and, following its investment decision, to buy its wind turbine generators exclusively from Nordex. The two companies are planning to work on projects with a total capacity of 1.7 gigawatts (GW).
Commenting on the agreement, Hans Bunting, chief operating officer for renewables at innogy SE, said: 'Thanks to the strategic partnership with Nordex, we have been able to optimize our procurement strategy for onshore wind turbines.
'For example, in Europe and especially in the U.S., we have secured prices for wind turbines and service for the coming years so that we remain competitive and ideally positioned for future auctions.'
Jose Luis Blanco, CEO of Nordex Group, called the partnership an important milestone.
'This new type of all-round collaboration covers the entire value chain for all onshore projects. Our joint aim here is to reduce the cost of energy over the entire life cycle of the turbines with a view to promoting the further development of wind energy,' he said.
Both companies are among the major players in the wind market, with the Nordex Group having installed more than 23 GW of wind energy capacity in over 25 markets and generated revenues of €3.1 billion in 2017.
Innogy, on the other hand, boasts an installed capacity of more than 925 megawatts in offshore wind and over 2.1 GW in onshore wind in Europe.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr