Finally, after messing up and apologizing, the forecasts were met, and Nordex closed the year with a -186.5 million euros EBIT, within the range of between -150 and -300 million euros that we discussed in Windletter #70 (an estimate given by one of you, by the way). Net profit, on the other hand, stood at -303 million. I leave you the link to Nordex’s results report (pdf).
For 2024, Nordex expects sales between 7,000 and 7,700 million euros and an EBITDA between 2% and 4%.
Kiko Maza has also updated his famous comparative table of OEMs’ financial results, and in his LinkedIn post, you can find some thoughts as well.
 | Windletter #69 – First green shoots for Western wind turbine manufacturersSergio Fdez Munguía·Feb 13Read full story |
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The Asian group Zhenshi acquires the Airbus plant in Puerto Real
This week, a piece of news caught my attention. According to several newspapers, the Chinese giant Zhenshi has purchased the Airbus plant in the Bay of Cádiz with the aim of manufacturing wind turbines.
However, delving beyond the headlines, it becomes apparent that they are not aiming to manufacture wind turbines but rather blades. Further investigation suggests that they are a supplier of raw materials for blade manufacturing, such as fiberglass or carbon fiber. In fact, their website lists the world’s leading OEMs as clients, both Chinese and Western.
Nevertheless, one of the appealing aspects of the plant is the open space in warehouses 3 and 4, where parts of the Airbus A380 (the world’s largest passenger aircraft) were manufactured until 2021. Given the dimensions, it seems like a suitable space for manufacturing large components.
So, I am uncertain about what to think, but contrary to mainstream media, I bet on the manufacturing and processing of raw materials.
If any of you have further information, I’m all ears.We will continue to closely monitor this issue, so if you don’t want to miss out, subscribe.
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Mingyang manufactures the world’s largest wind turbine blade
Through a post by Markel Meseguer on LinkedIn, I learned that Mingyang has manufactured the world’s largest wind turbine blade, measuring an impressive 143 meters in length.
This blade is for the MySE292 model, which has a power range of between 18 and 20 MW, and Mingyang has already manufactured the first nacelle for it as well.
In my Twitter account, I have shared some photos of the manufacturing process, which are actually very interesting and give us an idea of how artisanal this process still is.
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Monna Lisa, Prysmian’s vessel for laying submarine cable
Almost coinciding with its rebranding, the electrical cable manufacturer Prysmian has unveiled a new vessel for offshore cable laying, which it has named Monna Lisa.
According to Prysmian, the investment to build this vessel amounts to 240 million euros. Monna Lisa thus reinforces the company’s Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) capabilities and joins the other 5 vessels in its fleet.
Although Prysmian has always been known as a cable manufacturer, when it comes to such complex cables (high voltage and/or submarine), it is common for manufacturers to also offer installation services. This is a way to reduce risks and place the handling and installation of the cable under the manufacturer’s umbrella, which requires a much greater understanding of the product and technology. This approach is not common with medium and low voltage cables (<33 kV).
The truth is that the video is amazing:
Interestingly, the Monna Lisa follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Leonardo da Vinci, which as you can see also has a very inspiring and appropriate name for the occasion.
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Possible expansion of the Punta Lucero wind farm located in the Port of Bilbao
Until the arrival of the Esteyco’s Elican and Saitec Offshore’s DemoSATH, the Punta Lucero wind farm is the closest thing Spain has had to an offshore wind farm for many years.
Located on a breakwater in the Port of Bilbao, Punta Lucero consists of 5 Gamesa G80 wind turbines with a power of 2 MW each. Additionally, it has the dubious honor of being the last wind farm installed in the Basque Country, despite being constructed in 2006.
According to reports from Crónica Vasca, the Port of Bilbao is reportedly considering the possibility of expanding the installation with new wind turbines. This would be quite beneficial, considering that the Basque Country currently only has 143 MW installed capacity.
Before anyone mentions it: I haven’t forgotten about the Gamesa Offshore prototype of 5 MW installed in the breakwater of the port of Arinaga, a similar installation to this one in the Port of Bilbao.
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Two refurbished Bonus B450 wind turbines by WindTech
The curiosity of this edition comes from WindTech, a company dedicated to the repair and refurbishment of wind turbines and parts.
Through a LinkedIn post, WindTech has shared the recent acquisition of two Bonus B450 turbines from a decommissioned wind farm in Germany.
WindTech’s objective is to recover and refurbish as many components as possible, so they can be reintroduced into the market for wind turbines that are still in operation. It’s worth noting that the supply of many of these parts may not be easily available currently.
For those who are unfamiliar, Bonus was one of the pioneering manufacturers in the wind industry and was acquired by Siemens Power Generation in 2004 when it had installed 3,321 MW in 20 countries and a market share of around 9%.
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