REpower Systems

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REpower Systems SE
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 in Bremerhaven, Germany (Aerial view 2012)
REpower MM82 Wind Turbine in Minervino Murge, Italy

REpower is a German wind turbine company founded in 2001, which was subsequently acquired in December 2009 by Suzlon Energy Ltd. Its product range comprises several types of turbines with rated outputs of between 1.5 and 6.15 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.

History

In May 2007 after efforts by its largest shareholder Areva, to take a controlling interest in the company, a series of protracted bidding rounds [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 31 March 2012, Suzlon Energy now owns 100% of REpower.

Operations

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 6.15 megawatts from the same rotor diameter of 126.5 meters. The target market is the offshore wind farms sector 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 for the Beatrice project. The REpower 6MW turbine with the same rotor diameter has been operational in Elhöft, Germany since 2009, well ahead of any other turbine manufacturers in this class in the world.

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 the 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.

Locations in Germany

REpower AG new nacelle assembly hall at Bremerhaven.
Wind rotor blade REpower, Bukowsko 2010

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.

  • Technical Center in Osterrönfeld, Germany (June 2010)

  • MD70 in wind farm St. Michaelisdonn

  • REpower MM92 at Frankenhardt-Honhardt (Germany, Baden-Württemberg)

  • Factory premise of Repower's daughter PowerBlades in Bremerhaven

  • Rotor blades on the factory ground

  • 5M in Brunsbüttel

  • Machine cabin of Repower 5M

Offshore wind

REpower 5MW in Thornton Bank

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 54 units were installed in the summer of 2008.[10] Thornton Bank phases II and III (featuring 48 x REpower 6M turbines) are currently being installed. In 2012, REpower also completed the 150MW Ormonde wind farm off the coast of Barrow in the UK with 30 x REpower 5M turbines. 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] REpower has also recently signed a contract for 54 x REPower 6M turbines for the 332MW Gode Wind I project, replacing the Vestas turbines that were originally planned there.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Germany Inaugurates 5 MW Wind Turbine Prototype". RenewableEnergyAccess.com. 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2007-11-20. 
  2. ↑ "How Suzlon swung the REpower deal!". The Times Of India. 2007-05-26. 
  3. ↑ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/05/26/stories/2007052605190100.htm Suzlon acquires REpower for €1.35-b as Areva backs out
  4. ↑ http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=333247 Suzlon advances REpower stake buy
  5. ↑ http://www.suzlon.com/Content/News/PressReleasePDFs/Areva_REpower_Put_Option_Exercise_V1R3_FINAL.pdf
  6. ↑ "Areva takes 51% in German wind plant firm -source". Reuters. 2007-09-16. 
  7. ↑ Suzlon aims for full control
  8. ↑ http://www.repowersystems.de/index.php?id=151&backPID=407&tt_news=1604&L=1
  9. ↑ http://www.repowersystems.de/index.php?id=151&backPID=25&begin_at=5&tt_news=1764&L=1
  10. ↑ http://www.yourindustrynews.com/news_item.php?newsID=8617
  11. ↑ http://www.energiekontor.de/aktuelles/aktuelles.php?nr=edf00e9d35b78dafd999da58f1673719
  12. ↑ http://renewenergy.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/repower-rwe-innogy-make-19-gw-deal/

External links

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