| Type | Societas Europaea |
|---|---|
| Traded as | FWB: RPW |
| Industry | Renewable power |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Hamburg, Germany |
| Key people | Andreas Nauen (CEO), Tulsi Tanti (Chairman of the supervisory board) |
| Products | Wind turbines |
| Revenue | € 1,324,540.4 (2009/2010) |
| Employees | 2,500 (2011) |
| Parent | Suzlon Energy |
| Website | www.repower.de |
REpower is a German wind turbine company founded in 2001, purchased December 2009 by Suzlon Energy Ltd. Its product range comprises several types of turbines with rated outputs of between 1.5 and 6 megawatts. It created the 5M, in 2005.[1] REpower's 1.5-megawatt MD 70/77 range of turbines is one of the most successful turbines in its class. In 2002 REpower launched its 2-megawatt MM 70/82/92 range, currently in series production.
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In May 2007 after efforts by its largest shareholder Areva, to take a controlling interest in the company, a series of protracted bidding [2] resulted in not Areva, but Suzlon Energy of India acquiring the majority shareholding in REpower for €1.3 billion.[3] The deal was structured in such a manner to allow Suzlon to purchase Martifer's stake (22%) within two years for a fixed price of €265 million.[4] Suzlon subsequently strengthened its position by buying the remaining 30% Areva stake in June 2008 for more than €350 million[5]. Suzlon's total investment of approximately US$ 1.6 billion gives it a holding of 66%, with the next largest shareholder being Martifer of Portugal. Areva went on to purchase the majority holding in 5MW rival, Multibrid [6]. In 2009 Suzlon raised its share to 92% of REpower.[7] As of 31st August 2011, Suzlon Energy holds 95% of REpower. Suzlon Energy is now in the process of minority share squeeze out in an attempt to gain 100% control.
The REpower 5M 5-megawatt turbine was the largest commercial turbine until the subsequent upgrade of this unit to provide significant more power, named "6M". This has a rated output of 6.2 megawatts from the same rotor diameter of 126.5 meters. The target market is offshore wind farm. The prototype was assembled in the autumn of 2004 in Brunsbüttel, located in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. In August 2006 the first 5M model was erected within the project Beatrice Wind Farm. Meanwhile a 6 MW version with the same rotor diameter is operational in Elhöft, Germany.
Through subsidiaries and associates as well as licensing agreements, REpower is present in all major growth markets for wind energy in Europe: France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, the UK and Greece, in addition to promising overseas markets such as Japan, China, India and Australia.
Recently Repower has developed the 3.4MW and 3.2MW wind turbine for onshore market.
Together with the North German wind farm project developer Denker & Wulf AG, REpower Systems has signed a contract for the delivery of 22 wind turbines to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The REpower 3.4M104 turbines are planned for the Hohen Luckow project southwest of Rostock and are to be constructed by summer 2012.
REpower maintain their global operating headquarters and administrative centre at Hamburg. Research and Design facilities are located at Rendsburg, Schleswig Holstein, close to the original manufacturing plant and test centre in Husum. A new assembly hall was opened in Bremerhaven in 2008[8] specifically aimed at the future offshore market. This facility was built adjacent to a new 460m long joint venture blade assembly plant, where REpower has a majority holding.[9] A further manufacturing and service centre exists at Trampe near Berlin, and a secondary design office at Osnabrück.
REpower have ambitions to become a major supplier to the offshore wind industry. As well as the two units installed in the Beatrice demonstrator project in the Moray Firth, the 5M unit is currently being used for Phase I of the Thornton Bank project off the Belgian coast, where the first six of a proposed 60 units are being installed in the summer of 2008.[10] Further projects include Nordergründe in the Weser estuary off the coast of Bremerhaven, where a turbine supply agreement has been signed to supply 18 5M units.[11] The 5M is also deployed as part of the Alpha Ventus demonstrator in the German North Sea, where six 5M units were installed in 2009. In anticipation of future turbine supply shortages, RWE Innogy signed a memorandum of understanding with REpower for supply of 250 offshore units up to 2016.[12]
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