Dong hires Rothschild to find new wind investment

Dong Energy, a Danish renewable energy company, is working with Rothschild, a UK-based investment specialist, to help gather funding for future wind farm projects. An article in The Sunday Times stated that Rothschild was approached by the Danish company, as it can no longer draw enough interest from offshore wind energy investors due to current economic crisis.

The Times informed that Dong’s wind energy projects need huge amounts of capital. But when interviewed by BusinessGreen.com, it refused to comment on the newspaper’s story, informing that Dong does not respond to industry rumours.

However, a spokeswoman from Dong confirmed that the company is committed to several UK wind projects, including the London Array in Thames Estuary, soon to be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

The consortium behind the London Array consists of the UAE’s Masdar investment having a 20 per cent stake, E.ON of Germany owning 30 per cent stake and Dong Energy holding the remaining 50 per cent. The group informed that it will continue with the £1.9 billion May project, after a series of setbacks resulted from Shell’s exit from the consortium in 2008.

The global recession has proved difficult for Dong. In October, the company withdrew from Scotland’s 1.6GW Hunterston power station project. Dong informed that it backed out because of the bad economics of constructing a new coal plant.

Meanwhile, Dong was also reported of selling down stakes in energy projects where it has 100 per cent ownership, such as the Irish Sea’s £1 billion Walney wind farm.