REpower celebrates the topping-out ceremony for its offshore factory in Bremerhaven

Hamburg/Bremerhaven, 11 December 2007. With a topping-out ceremony, REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) is today celebrating the installation of its new factory for offshore wind turbines in Bremerhaven’s Lunehafen. In the presence of the Deputy Secretary to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Udo Paschedag, the Mayor of Bremen, Jens Böhrnsen, as well as Bremen Senator for the Economy, Ralf Nagel, and further invited guests and employees, the topping-out wreath was raised into place by means of a crane in the afternoon.

The dimensions of the REpower 5M, which nacelle has the same dimensions as a single-family house and weighs around 290 tons, place particular requirements on the size and infrastructure of the production site. Germany’s third-largest wind turbine manufacturer and a leader in the field of offshore wind energy has found a suitable production site for serial production of its 5M offshore turbine in Bremerhaven. Initially, around 80 5M offshore turbines can be installed here in two-shift work, among other things to create the first German offshore wind farm “Alpha Ventus” off the island Borkum, for which REpower will supply six 5Ms.

The project will be carried out by Bilfinger Berger Hochbau. The Hamburg branch will create a new, ready-to-use assembly hall (around 160 metres long, 40 metres wide and 20 metres high) as well as the administrative buildings. One particular feature of the hall will be a base which will make the hall floor capable of bearing heavy loads so that it can withstand the weight of the nacelles.

Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, CEO of REpower Systems AG, pointed out in his speech: “The Renewable Energies Act amendment which the Federal Cabinet has just passed will finally provide a major impetus for expanding offshore wind energy in Germany at a faster rate. The construction of the new assembly hall is a milestone for our company on the path to the serial production of one of the largest wind turbines in the world. The production capacities and hundreds of jobs which will be created here will make a decisive contribution to helping REpower expand its position in the offshore wind industry. The support offered by the Federal Government and the business community here was exemplary and will allow us to commence serial production of the 5M as well as dedicated rotor blades as early as in the middle of 2008.”