Wind turbine maker Enercon says drop in business 'partly home-made'

Germany's leading wind turbine producer Enercon says the first major crisis in the company's history is partly due to "home-made" problems, Kathrin Witsch writes for the Handelsblatt. Enercon told the newspaper it did not see new market trends quickly enough and now had to make sure its products become competitive again by lowering prices. However, CEO Hans-Dieter Kettwig also said that Germany's energy policy had "pulled the plug" on Enercon's business and "dramatically increased" existing problems that resulted in a loss of 200 million euros in 2018. "For years, Enercon has relied on the booming German home market," Witsch wrote, adding that competitors like Nordex or Siemens Gamesa were much quicker to expand abroad and also included offshore wind power in their portfolio, a shortcoming that Enercon now was determined to address.

Wind power expansion in Germany is experiencing its most difficult phase in nearly two decades, with the number of new turbines falling to unprecedently low levels. Enercon announced in early November it had to axe about 3,000 jobs and reduce its production in Germany, while competitor Senvion filed for insolvency earlier this year.