German utility RWE has joined the top table of the world’s largest producers of renewable power, boosting its clean-energy portfolio to more than 9GW after completing a wide-ranging share and asset swap deal with rival E.ON.

With finalisation of the transaction – which took over two years to complete – the company becomes world’s second largest generator of offshore wind power, while integrating the wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, biogas generation, as well as gas storage activities from both E.ON and its former renewables subsidiary Innogy.

The beefed up generation player plans investments of about €5bn ($5.6bn) in Europe to further expand is renewables portfolio to 13GW, €1bn of which is earmarked for projects in Germany.

But the company also still has a massive fossil generation fleet, and has been criticised for its plan to become carbon-neutral only in 2040 – two years later than Germany as a whole, which is already in the mire of climate activists for its too-slow exit from fossible fuel-based power production.

RWE chief executive Rolf Martin Schmitz, who has fought hard for being allowed to keep coal and lignite plants running as long as possible, claims the company’s torturously slow fossil exit will take it “far beyond what other companies are aiming for.”

“Our team has an outstanding position – with a strong renewables business, which is channelling all its energy towards growing internationally and can now hit the ground running,” he said.

“With a fleet of flexible and conventional [fossil] power stations, which build a reliable bridge to the new energy era.”

Wind

RWE joins world's largest renewables producers as E.ON deal closes