Siemens Gamesa to acquire assets from wind turbine maker Senvion

German-Spanish wind energy company Siemens Gamesa has agreed to buy major assets from insolvent German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion for 200 million euros, Reuters reports. Siemens Gamesa said it was buying a large part of Senvion’s European onshore services business, all its intellectual property and an onshore blade manufacturing facility in Vagos, Portugal. Senvion, which is in self-administration after becoming insolvent in April, said the agreement would secure the jobs of more than 2,000 employees, nearly 60 percent of the company’s total staff. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, Senvion said in a press release. The group is also in explorative talks with potential investors for other assets, including operations in India and non-European service operations.“The new environment will protect the critical competencies and skills that were developed at Senvion and enable our employees to make long-term and valuable contributions to the energy transition,” said Senvion CEO Yves Rannou.

Falling prices and fierce competition in the wind power sector led in part to Senvion’s financial difficulties. Onshore wind power in Germany is going through its worst growth phase in two decades, with the number of turbines added in the first half of 2019 falling to the lowest level since 2000. Wind power is nevertheless set to become a cornerstone of Germany's future energy supply and the government has presented plans to greatly increase the expansion of renewables until 2030 as part of the country's recent climate action package.