Germany: Nordex shifts into higher gear

Nordex has made a successful start to the second half of the year. In July and August the company obtained orders in Germany for 102 turbines with a capacity totalling more than 260 megawatts. The bestseller at 65 units was the light-wind N117/2400 turbine.

Apart from the established products in the Gamma series, with 27 turbines sold the Delta machines also attracted the interest of customers. As one example of this, GEO mbH, a project developer, asked Nordex to supply eight N100/3000 for the Brunsbüttel wind farm in Schleswig-Holstein. At the site the strong-wind turbine from the Delta series is the ideal model from Nordex's product portfolio for this site.

When it comes to the distribution of Nordex turbines among the federal states, it is Baden-Württemberg, where Nordex sales have increased significantly, that stands out. Following last year's slump, when the entire sector installed fewer than ten turbines there, this year Nordex has obtained orders for four projects with altogether 25 turbines, meaning that the company has increased its sales in Baden-Württemberg by a multiple of seven at one fell swoop. In August Nordex wrapped up the largest of these projects, the "Ochsenberg" wind farm with a total of 14 N117/2400 turbines. "Ochsenberg" is being developed by Denker & Wulf AG, a wind farm developer, who will operate the turbines together with Blauwald GmbH & Co KG, a branch of the Merckle GmbH Group.

Apart from delivery and installation of the turbines, all orders also include at least 15 years of service on the basis of a Premium service contract. With its newly opened service offices in Leipzig and Würzburg and a further six new service points, the manufacturer is now even closer to the market for service work on the wind farms and is therefore able to meet the requirements of its customers rapidly and flexibly. 

Siegbert Pump, Head of Sales in Germany, also takes a positive view of future developments: "The upsurge after the summer break can give us further impetus in the coming months as the German government is standing by its plans for expanding the use of onshore wind." The Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy plans a net annual increase of 2,500 megawatts.