Vw interested to invest in wind farms in the North Sea

Talks are ongoing between Volkswagen AG and German renewable energy developer Windreich AG about a plan for the automaker to invest in one of its wind farms in the North Sea. Willi Balz, Windreich's CEO, confirmed that there are talks but he declined to give details about the project. Approval has been given by the German authorities for three Windreich projects, such as the 42-turbine Deutsche Bucht farm, which has a potential capacity of up to 252 megawatts if 6-megawatt turbines are utilized.

Balz said that among those competing to supply the turbines for Deutsche Bucht are Areva Wind, a German unit of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva SA, and a second manufacturer that he declined to name. It’s likely that construction will begin in 2013.

An Aug. 25 report from the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper cited company officials who reportedly revealed that Volkswagen plans to invest about 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in wind, solar and hydro projects within the next two years. This report further stated that Volkswagen has been meeting with four developers, including Windreich, about potential investments. Volkswagen spokesman Christoph Adomat said that company wants to raise usage of renewable sources to become an "economic and ecologic" leader in the global car sector.[via : 4wheelsnews]