Wind company suspends payments

Wind company Gesellschaft für Energietechnik, more commonly known as GET, filed for bankruptcy at the Rendsburg Court on September 18. The company is now in the hands of trustee Dirk Meimberg of Kiel. A settlement is being sought with creditors, but if this fails, bankruptcy proceedings will be opened, says GET's Per Lind. Talks are underway with potential investors, Lind adds, who are interested not only in GET technology but also in existing and planned wind stations. GET, based in Rendsburg, has a range of four turbine types: a 225 kW, a 600 kW and two machines acquired when it took over Autoflug in early 1996, a 100 kW and 1.2 MW. A prototype of the two blade 1.2 MW machine is running at a site close to the Brunsbüttel nuclear power station, but the design has since progressed to three blades, 1.5 MW capacity and a 65 metre rotor. GET turbines are built by shipbuilding company HDW-Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, part of the major Preussag Group. GET faced its first crisis in 1995 when the market faltered pending a court decision on building permits and the privileged status of wind turbines in open countryside. Though the law was upheld, GET lost a number of customers and turned its hand to developing projects. It had installed one wind plant of four GET 600 kW units when other projects fell foul of the ongoing market uncertainty, says Lind. "Once talk began of cutting the premium payments after ten years, our investors were advised by their accountants and lawyers to pull out." GET says it has projects on its books worth DEM 150 million and Lind is optimistic that a new partner will be found. GET was founded in July 1992 on the basis of co-operation contracts with HDW Nobiskrug and Windgineering of Roskilde in Denmark, made up of the development team of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Danwin after its bankruptcy.