Norway’s Statkraft says green energy benefitting from oil downturn

• 9 years ago (2015-10-30)

Europe 1089 Middle East 326 Renewables 776

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Christian Rynning-Toennesen, chief executive of Statkraft, said to Reuters: “It is easier to get the financing, because there is less money going into the oil sector… Until one-and-a-half years ago, we had serious problems filling critical positions with skilled people. Now we have no problems. The oil industry has many skilled people, so we get more applicants. More than we need, actually."

Statkraft , the world’s largest hydropower company and Europe’s biggest generator of renewable energy, has a total energy capacity of 18 300 MW. The company, whose hydropower plants have a total annual generating capacity of over 50 TWh, also has wind farms and gas-fired power plants.

Operating in a range of countries like Germany, Britain, Turkey and Brazil, Statkraft had a turnover of $6.1 billion last year. The company could be well placed to take advantage of this new situation, as a major 1000 MW Norwegian wind project that was put on hold last year due to low profitability is now being reconsidered.

While Rynning-Toennesen said that Statkraft was now looking at ways to take the project forward, there remained a number of “uncertainties” – with the final investment decision to be made in the first quarter of 2016.

Statkraft has also been active in Turkey, Europe’s fastest growing power market, earlier this year, as it has already opened its second hydropower plant there, with the third mid-construction. Other growth opportunities are seen in South America, according to Rynning-Toennesen, where Statkraft has recently opened a power plant in Peru and increased its stake in the Brazilian power company Desenvix.