RWE Finances and Equinor’s Empire Wind Struggles

This week Allen discusses the European Investment Bank's major wind
farm investment in Romania, the financial performance of German
energy giant RWE, and the potential cancellation of Equinor's
Empire Wind Project due to regulatory challenges. Sign up now for
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technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard
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YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime News. Flash Industry News
Lightning fast. Your host, Allen Hall, shares the renewable
industry news you may have missed. Allen Hall: Okay, starting
off the week over in Romania, the European investment bank is
investing 30 million euros in a major wind farm project in Romania.
The poster two project located near the Black Sea, will have a
capacity of up to 400 megawatts. That's enough to supply over 1.4
million Romanian households for an entire year. The EIB is
partnering with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the project
with the total investment expected to be in excess of 500 million
Euros. Construction is due to start later this year and it will
bolster the European Union's push for climate neutrality by
mid-century. German energy Giant RWE, reported an adjusted EBITDA
of 1.3 billion euros [00:01:00] for the first three
months of 2025. Adjusted net income amounted to 0.5 billion euros
as expected earnings were below the level of the same quarter last
year. This decline was primarily attributable to normalization of
income in the flexible generation segment and a weaker start to the
year in the trading business. The commissioning of new offshore
wind farms, solar plants, and battery storage facilities had a
positive impact on the company's performance. RWE commissioned 600
megawatts of new generation capacity in the first quarter alone.
The company, currently has new plants with a combined capacity of
11.2 gigawatts under construction. Michael Mueller, chief financial
officer of RWE, stated that they were reaffirming their full year
earnings forecast after a solid start to the year. He noted, that
the company is making great progress in expanding its portfolio in
a value accretive manner. Construction projects remain on
schedule [00:02:00] and on budget. Over in Norway,
Equinor is warning it may cancel its Empire Wind Project off New
York's coast. Following a Trump administration stop work order, the
company is spending $50 million weekly to keep the project afloat
while awaiting resolution. Molly Morris, president of Equinor's US
renewable energy arm, describe the situation as unsustainable. The
Interior Department led by Secretary Doug Bergham ordered Equinor
to halt construction on April 17th. The order cited information
suggesting the Biden administration may have approved the project
without a thorough environmental analysis. The stop work order
stemmed from a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. However, Equinor says it has not seen the report
and is not aware of the specific concerns raised. The project
represents a significant investment for Equinor. The company has
already invested $2.7 billion in the [00:03:00] Empire
Wind Facility. Currently, 11 vessels with 100 workers remain on
board, sitting on the water, waiting for an order to resume work.
That's this week's top. New stories. Stay tuned tomorrow for the
Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.