FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly does PNE WIND AG do?

PNE WIND AG's core business is planning, building and operating onshore and offshore wind farms to generate electricity. This includes the systematic acquisition of locations suitable for setting up wind farms, obtaining opinions on wind potential and energy generation, securing financing, constructing the project as a prime contractor and selling wind farms to investors. In addition, PNE WIND AG offers operators technical and commercial support after the farms have gone live. What is more, in future the company will operate its own wind farms in future (independent power producer -> IPP)

2. What are PNE WIND AG's objectives? What strategy does it plan to employ to achieve these aims?

The wind power market offers a wide variety of opportunities. As a result of the limited deposits of fossil fuels, the need to avoid greenhouse gases and the growing demand for energy from safe sources, renewable energy will become more and more important around the world in future. And we want to benefit from this trend! We believe that the key to our success is our growth strategy which is clearly geared to the market's future needs: expanding our project planning activities in Germany and abroad, both onshore and offshore. That is why we plan to increase the volume of the onshore wind farm projects that we deal with to a total of 10,000 MW over the medium to long term. We plan to increase the volume of our offshore projects from 2,700 MW to 5,000 MW. In addition, we also plan to operate an increasing number of our own wind farms, to thus generate stable and forecastable cash flows. PNE WIND AG has thus laid the foundations for its further growth – and that is why we are confident that we will be able to enjoy successful expansion on the future-proof wind power market.

3. What criteria does PNE WIND AG use to decide whether to enter a foreign market?

The primary conditions for acquiring a location – irrespective of the country in which it is located – are "good winds" and secure underlying conditions. As a wind farm planner, PNE WIND AG only gets involved in a project if a wind farm can be operated at a profit. In addition, entry to foreign markets is pursued with vigor if the respective country has a stable economic and political climate. At the end of the day, the respective country must have a fee system in place for electricity generated from wind power that can be calculated over the long term, thus opening up a sufficient planning horizon for investors. All of these conditions were in place for our expansion into Western and Eastern European markets and also in the USA.

4. In general, what future perspectives does the wind power market offer?

The market for the generation of electricity from wind power is growing strongly and sustainably. Over the past few years, wind power has become substantially more important – driven by the ongoing high energy costs and the accelerated global efforts to cut CO2 emissions. Why? Because wind power is by far the most mature form of renewable energy. This is coupled with the guaranteed secure supply in the energy sector, which is playing an increasingly important role in an growing number of countries. In 2010 the installed nominal output worldwide increased to a current total of more than 197,000 MW. In Germany alone the nominal output increased in 2011 by more than 2,000 MW to around 29,000 MW at present. Industry experts believe that the capacity installed worldwide will continue to increase strong in the coming years.

5. How will the amended German Renewable Energy Act impact the German wind power market?

Germany leads the international wind power industry and is one of the world's leading markets. This is because the German legislators already recognized the importance of renewable energy back in 1990 and initiated corresponding subsidization. These statutory foundations are reworked periodically and brought into line with current developments. That is why an amendment to the German Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz – EEG) once more was resolved with effect from January 1, 2012, which will further drive the expansion of renewable energy. The Act includes an increase in the feed-in fees to 8.93 cents/kWh (onshore) or 15 to 19 cents/kWh (offshore). This is coupled with a reduction in fees to 1.5% per year for onshore energy. There is no regression through to 2017 for offshore wind farms. This is rounded off by further improvements to the underlying conditions such as bonuses for repowering onshore wind farms. This means that the statutory foundations have been laid for continued positive growth in the German wind power sector.

6. On which stock exchanges are shares of PNE WIND AG traded?

Shares of PNE WIND AG can be traded on all German stock exchanges. The most liquid markets are the electronic trading system XETRA and on-floor trading in Frankfurt.

7. How high is the dividend?

2011 PNE WIND AG paid a dividend in the amount of 4 Cent per share. The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board propose the payment of a dividend  amounting to 4 Cent per share to the annual general meeting 2012.