Vattenfall wind power profits fall as volumes dip

Swedish group says it produced 800MWh less from fleet despite operating base growing

A Vattenfall offshore wind turbine.
A Vattenfall offshore wind turbine.Photo: Vattenfall

Swedish utility Vattenfall saw its wind power profits fall as lower winds drove a 15% drop in generation from its turbines despite more assets entering operation.

Vattenfall’s wind business posted a profit of €2bn ($2.3bn) for the first three months of the year, down from €2.6bn at the same stage in 2024.

The majority of the fall was down to one-off factors that pumped up last year’s Q1, but the group also felt the effect of higher costs associated with new projects.

Vattenfall also noted a fall of 15%, or about 800MWh, in generation across its onshore and offshore fleet.

That came despite the Swedish group’s operating wind base increasing to 6.4GW from a year-earlier 5.7GW.

Vattenfall chief financial officer Kerstin Ahlfont said the fleet’s availability remained comparable to last year, meaning the issue was the wind.

“We have lower volume from wind generation, despite actually having more assets in operation.

“That’s something that is hard to hedge against, but we are analysing it thoroughly to include it in our planning.”

Vattenfall in the quarter took a final investment decision on the 980MW Nordlicht 1 and the 630MW Nordlicht 2 projects in Germany that are due in service by 2028.

The projects have a conditional agreement with Vestas for the supply and installation of 112 of the Danish OEM’s V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines.

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Published 29 April 2025, 10:52Updated 30 April 2025, 07:34
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