European Energy reports strong growth

“Our business model has shown its strength in 2020. The pandemic has been tough, but we have experienced that the uncertainty has increased the willingness to invest in a green future. Renewable energy has now become a safe harbour in troubled waters for investors”, says Knud Erik Andersen, Chief Executive Officer of European Energy.

“In 2020, the organisation has been geared to handle the extra volume of renewable energy construction projects that the company is poised to start in the coming quarters. This ensures that European Energy can continue to develop while building, to build while managing assets and to manage assets while selling green power to the market and divesting parts of constructed assets.”

Despite low electricity prices in Northern Europe, power sale has increased 41% in 2020 from €30.5 million in 2019 to €42.9 million, and now represents 22% of the revenue.

In 2020, European Energy saw the expansion both in the number of offices and employees. Six new offices were opened in Hamburg, Germany; Glasgow, Scotland; Milan, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; São Paolo, Brazil; and Vilnius, Lithuania, respectively. At the same time, the total number of employees was 203 at the end of 2020 – a net increase of 55 new colleagues within a year.

During 2020, European Energy made its first investment into Power-to-X with a 24% stake in the Danish e-methanol company, REintegrate.

“Our business is growing – both in numbers and in areas. That makes our business less vulnerable to economic changes or in case of a crisis, such as the current global pandemic. We are also an independent power producer. Despite low prices of electricity during most of the year, it has been lucrative to maintain assets and sell more green power”, says Andersen.

In 2020, European Energy signed seven Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with major companies who wish to minimise their global carbon footprint.

“We aim to make the right cut between sale of electricity, divestments and PPAs. Like electricity sale, PPAs have become an ever more important tool in our effort to secure the best return on investments”, says Andersen.

“Our annual results and the market trends in general give us high ambitions for the coming year. Taking the political and financial signals from our main markets into consideration, we believe it is no longer a question if we transform the global energy supply to renewable energy, but how fast we will achieve it.”

The outlook for 2021 reflects European Energy’s ambitions. Both EBITDA and profit before tax are expected to grow by more than 30%. The company’s optimism stems from a world market facing a boom in green energy over the coming years. Politicians in most countries show remarkable green ambitions, and investments in renewable energy have never been higher at a time where solar and wind power are the cheapest form of energy.

At the end of 2020, European Energy had more than 600 MW under construction and more than 800 MW ready to be built.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry read our latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global’s Winter 2020 issue

The Winter issue of Energy Global provides a range of technical articles covering technological advancements and future outlooks in the renewables sector, from companies including CorPower Ocean, Rystad Energy, Black & Veatch, Voltalia, FUERGY, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/special-reports/03032021/european-energy-reports-strong-growth/