A restructured RWE may partner with other energy providers or oil and gas firms active in renewables to bear heavy costs in the nascent US offshore wind sector, the German utility’s chief financial officer Markus Krebber said.

RWE is awaiting the approval of US and EU competition authorities over a three-way share and asset swap deal involving its Innogy renewables unit and rival E.ON, which among other things would bundle Innogy and E.ON’s renewable generation assets under the roof of a new RWE Renewables.

Krebber stressed that he can’t speak for the current renewables activities of Innogy or E.ON, but confirmed that US offshore wind is part of RWE’s future renewable energy strategy.

“It is an interesting market as you have to make relatively high initial investments to secure the [lease] rights corresponding to 'sea acreage', and then wait for several years more for the real tender to see whether your bid for construction is successful,” Krebber said during a results press conference.

“It is very difficult in that [the US] very competitive market to stem [bear investments] of that magnitude alone.”

The construction of an offshore wind project typically costs more than €1bn ($1.12bn), and RWE has earlier said it will have about €1.5bn a year available for investments in renewables. The US offshore wind industry through 2030 will generate $68.2bn in supply contracts, a recent paper by the University of Delaware estimated.

It is clear that all offshore wind developers in the US are seeking international partners, and it will be part of RWE’s strategy to do the same as soon as the utility has Innogy and E.ON’s renewables portfolios at its disposal, Krebber added.

Oil and gas majors such as Shell, Equinor (formerly Statoil) and Total are already active in the European offshore wind sector or have said they will enter it. Equinor has won US offshore lease auctions, and Shell is already partnering with European utilities EDF and EDPR on US offshore wind projects.

Wind

RWE mulls partnering with oil & gas firms in US offshore wind