Major North Sea Offshore Wind Park Outfitter Files For Insolvency Amid “Considerable Uncertainties”!

German financial daily Handelsblatt here reports that a former shipyard which later turned to building offshore wind turbine sub-structures has filed for insolvency.

According to the company’s Managing Director Thierry Putters, the filing is due to “a looming inability to pay” its creditors. The Handelsblatt writes that 188 employees will be impacted. They already had been working reduced hours.

The Nordseewerke, located at the northwest seaport of Emden, was originally founded as a shipyard in 1903. After financial setbacks over the past five years it was taken over by other companies. Recently in a bid to stem losses it retooled to build offshore wind turbine sub-structures to supply North Sea wind park demand. However investment decisions on future offshore wind parks have been put off as uncertainty over Germany’s move into renewable energies grows.

Over the years huge technical problems have plagued North Sea offshore wind parks.

Nordseewerke is just the latest in a years-long series of insolvencies that have been crippling Germany’s renewable energies industry. In the solar industry, almost every major German solar manufacturer has gone bust since 2012.

Spiegel here reports on Nordseewerke:

The political framework conditions are marked by considerable uncertainties concerning the support for offshore wind energy after the year 2020, the company reported.”

During its ship-building heyday, the company employed some 5000 workers. The labor union blames poor management for the company’s demise.