VESTAS: Wind Power That Means the World

“Our exceptional performance continues to be the driving force behind the rapid growth of renewable energy availability around the world,” Vestas begins, and its 110 years of expertise, willpower, and passion back these lofty claims and enable it to harness the power of this modern energy source, while markedly raising the profile of wind as a mainstream energy source. 

“With more than 40 years in the wind industry, Vestas has more experience than anyone else in making wind work.”

An unmatched track record of successfully implementing more than 140GW of wind power capacity, including more than 7GW offshore, forms the backbone of Vestas’ expertise and unrivalled experience, and powers continuous product improvement and performance optimisation. 

Vestas turbines have been installed in 85 countries around the world and operate on every kind of site, from high altitude to extreme weather conditions, meeting these diverse challenges through purpose-driven product development and extensive testing at the industry’s largest facility.

NATURAL ENERGY REPLACEMENT

Fossil fuels are of course a finite resource, and, when consumed for long enough, their global stocks will unavoidably eventually disappear. “The natural replacement is sweeping freely around the earth,” Vestas proposes. “Wind. It is renewable, predictable, fast to install, clean and commercially viable.”

Vestas has installed the first wind power plants in more markets than anyone else, establishing itself as the true pioneer of the industry and unbendingly committed to raising the profile of wind as a mainstream energy source.

Vestas has spent its last 40 years specifically focussed on the wind energy industry, continuously pioneering new technologies and solutions to bring reliable solutions to every corner of the globe, and along the way plant the seeds of the modern wind industry.

“Every single project that Vestas has undertaken represents a journey in itself, helping us to mature the capabilities and know-how that we offer today to our business partners in order to widen wind energy’s footprint across new territories,’ the company offers.

“Our stories are a testament to the fact that there are no obstacles impossible to overcome when you have a solid partner with the right capabilities, accompanied by an industry-leading product- and service portfolio.”

ENVENTUS EVOLUTION

Introduced in 2019, Vestas’s EnVentus platform represents the next generation in the evolution of wind turbines. The technology combines to result in a vastly higher level of robustness and performance, to create an even more finely matched combination of turbines and harness available wind energy in any specific location. 

“EnVentus based variants are designed with global applicability in mind,” Vestas clarifies, and this potential has been eagerly seized by major players in wholly disparate territories. Destined for Australia, the 157MW order from Neoen, the leading French independent producer of renewable energy, in May this year, marked Vestas’ first EnVentus order for Asia Pacific and Australia, and the inaugural combination of these two leading companies.

The project will feature 28 of Vestas’ V162-5.6 MW turbines from the EnVentus platform. From the base of the tower to the highest tip of the blade, the wind turbines will reach 230m to fully capture the site’s high wind shear.

“Vestas is proud that through the Kaban Green Power Hub, Neoen and Vestas’ global partnership has been extended to Australia,” commented Purvin Patel, President of Vestas Asia Pacific. “We are pleased that Neoen has chosen our leading technology, market experience and broad service solutions to help them achieve the best return on investment for their project.

“The energy generated by Kaban Green Power Hub will make a critical contribution to the northern fringe of Australia’s electricity network. Sustainable projects like this continue to demonstrate the reliability of wind generation, along with its ability to be deployed in remote regions of our country,” added Peter Cowling, Head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand.

Some 14,000km away, in the following month the EnVentus expertise was also sought by the 102MW Närpiö Norrskogen project, being developed by EPV Energy Ltd in western Finland. Vestas will supply, install and commission 17 V162-6.0MW turbines at the project, bringing Finland’s orders alone of EnVentus to approximately 1.3GW.

“We’re privileged to continue partnering with EPV Energy on the Närpiö Norrskogen project, extending our collaboration with EPV as they develop another project with our latest technology,” enthused Juan Furones, Vice President of Sales North & West, Vestas Northern and Central Europe.

RECORD ORDER LEVELS

Poland has also proven to be an important territory for Vestas, and the scene of its most recent triumph in scooping orders across a trio of wind projects totalling 70MW in capacity from Eurowind Energy A/S in Poland. The Zniny Damaslawek, Pniewy and Miescisko sites are all located in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship in central Poland, and this order further bolsters Vestas’s unmatched record of nearly 3.8GW in contracts won in Poland.

“Adding to our already outstanding collaboration with Eurowind Energy, these three orders in Poland are an excellent endorsement of the range of turbine solutions we can provide customers,” resumed Richard Baylis, VP Sales East and Business Development at Vestas Northern & Central Europe.

“Vestas’s V100-2.0 MW turbine is a good fit with the projects some of the leading developers are installing in Poland, and we’re delighted to be selected to deliver turbines for the Zniny Damaslawek, Pniewy, and Miescisko projects in 2022.”

“Poland is one of our main markets and will continue to be so in the foreseeable future,” furthered Jens Rasmussen, CEO of Eurowind Energy. “We have a sizeable development pipeline in Poland and we look forward to developing, constructing and operating those wind and solar farms in the years to come.”

All of this seemingly unstoppable activity has resulted in a record-high combined order backlog for Vestas, producing in the second quarter of 2021 revenue of EUR 3,536m. The quarterly intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to a colossal 5,290MW, and the value of the wind turbine order backlog totalled EUR 21.2 billion as at the end of June.

In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, Vestas also held service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of EUR 26.9 billion. All of this combined to see the value of the backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stand at EUR 48.1 billion, representing an increase of EUR 13 billion compared on the comparable period of the year prior.

Group President & CEO Henrik Andersen led the celebrations. “In the second quarter of 2021, Vestas underlined our market-leading position, achieving revenue of EUR 3.5 billion and an EBIT margin of 2.9%. This increase was primarily driven by underlying improved operations and execution, but hampered by the continued cost inflation impacting global industrials.

“In this environment, our service business and wind turbine order intake grew 23% and 28% respectively year-over-year, which resulted in an all-time high order backlog of more than EUR 48 billion,” he continued. “To reflect the challenges from cost inflation and the global environment we operate in, we have revised our guidance for 2021 and we remain focused on executing our priorities for the year, which enable us to deliver on our commitments, drive the energy transition, and strengthen our market leadership.”