Like many small wind developers – roughly classified as those with operational assets under 200 megawatts (MW) – PNE continues to tout its bright future thanks to massive government support for renewables projects.

PNE, based in Cuxhaven, reported revenues of €102.7m ($154m) in the year to 30 September – up from €51.9m during the same period last year.

PNE’s operating profit during the period fell by 80% to €5.1m, though it explains that its outsized profit last year was due to the one-off sale of its stake in Danish rotor blade maker SSP Technology.

“The company saw a distinct rise in earnings at the operative level,” says chairman Martin Billhardt.

PNE – like similar-sized UK developers such as Novera and Renewable Energy Holding – has a multi-gigawatt pipeline of projects in the works, both onshore and offshore.

But industry analysts increasingly believe that such pipelines are no longer enough to guarantee a company’s ability to finance projects and attract investment, and that the financial crisis has turned many once-promising smaller wind developers into prime acquisition targets.

In the past, smaller players like PNE acted as the catalysts for the wind industry – initiating projects, submitting applications, dealing with local objections, obtaining consents and raising funds for construction. Typically they would then sell their projects on to institutional investors or electrical utilities at various stages of development.

However, some believe that business model is now under a dual threat, as the financial crisis has made it difficult for small firms to raise money, and many major energy players have now established in-house project development teams.

But PNE paints a rosy picture of its future, and has held its full-year earnings guidance at €5m to €7m.

In addition to its extensive project pipeline encompassing Germany, Canada and the US, PNE also nabbed approval for three offshore wind farms in German waters – the most of any company.