Vestas CEO blasts Fortum for 'damaging EU sanctions unity' with $218m Russia wind farm claim
Henrik Andersen claims arbitration proceedings over terminated turbine supply agreement 'can only benefit Russia and its sympathisers'
Wind giant Vestas launched a blistering attack on customer Fortum for launching action it said “can only benefit Russia and its sympathisers” over termination of turbine supply contracts to Russian projects being developed by the Finnish state-owned power group.
Vestas said Fortum has started arbitration in Sweden claiming more than €200m ($218m) for cancelled turbine deals relating to wind farms planned by the latter’s Russian subsidiary WEDF.
Following the invasion of Ukraine and resulting EU sanctions, Vestas said it halted deliveries and “invoked the sanctions-specific clause in each contract between Vestas and WEDF, which gave each party the unambiguous right to terminate the contracts if performance was impacted by international sanctions. These clauses explicitly included sanctions against Russia”.
The Danish group said after unsuccessful efforts to reach an agreement with Fortum, it terminated the contracts in June 2022.
Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said of Fortum’s legal action: “We strongly believe the arbitration to be without merit, and we are astonished and dismayed a state-owned company from a fellow EU-country would openly question the sanctions against Russia and thereby the unity of EU countries.
“Member states and companies were aware from the outset that the sanctions would have financial consequences, also outside of Russia, and questioning whether sanctions apply can only benefit the interests of Russia and its sympathisers.”
Andersen added: “We have approached political stakeholders to find a sensible resolution to the matter, which together with a public conversation around the arbitration’s broader impact on the perceived unity of EU member states hopefully will cause Fortum to reconsider its position. We will vigorously defend ourselves should this meritless arbitration continue.”
Fortum was before the Ukraine invasion the largest player in Russia’s nascent wind power sector with Vestas a key supplier.
The Finnish group has since 2022 been engaged in a complex and costly retreat from the Russian energy sector, where it has widespread interests stretching back decades. Vestas has also exited the Russian market.