Hope for Senvion

As German manager magazin reports, there are several interested parties for the takeover of the insolvent Hamburg wind turbine manufacturer Senvion. Both Japanese Toshiba Group and German-Spanish turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa are currently reviewing the conditions for an acquisition of Senvion. American investor Blackstone has also shown interest.

Meanwhile, the northern German federal states are also planning to support Senvion. As Buten and Binnen reports, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen plan to participate in bridging guarantees in order to save as many of the 1800 jobs as possible. Until June the salaries of the employees are still secured by insolvency money. The planned guarantee is expected to amount to 120 million euros for a period of three months.

After the announcement of insolvency, trade union IG Metall had blamed the German government and called for quick action. Wolfgang Lemb, Managing Director of IG Metall, said: "We need a reliable industrial perspective for the wind industry in Germany. The German government must finally resolve the backlog of reforms in the energy transition and set the course for a stable expansion path for wind energy. According to the German government's plans, the share of renewable energies should increase to 65 percent by 2030, but the necessary legal framework has not yet been put in place. On the contrary, the number of approved projects for the construction of new wind farms is declining. This is the wrong way to go. Senvion's filed insolvency is a frightening development that must be stopped at all costs. It is now a matter of pointing out a perspective for the employees and doing everything possible to secure the jobs."