CEZ Group acquired eight wind farms from project developer wpd. The majority of the wind farms, which have a total of 35 wind turbines and installed capacity of 85.25 MW, are located in the northern part of Germany. The leading Czech energy supplier relies on TÜV SÜD's expertise for the necessary technical due diligence.

"This is our first major acquisition on the Germany renewable energy market," says Tomáš Pleskač, Chief Renewables and Development Officer of CEZ Group. "Our wind farms in Germany produce over 210 GWh of electricity per year, supplying the power needs of almost 100,000 households." Additionally CEZ bought the Fohren-Linden wind farm, located in Rhineland-Palatinate, from investment and asset manager AREAM in December 2016. The wind farm has a capacity of 12.8 MW. TÜV SÜD also supported this acquisition, the first by CEZ in Germany, by providing technical due diligence services.

Within the scope of technical due diligence for wind farms, the experts carry out a detailed study and review of approvals and licences, construction, maintenance and operation contracts, grid connection and energy yields. "This comprehensive assessment helps to keep the investment risks of wind-farm acquisition to a minimum", says Marc Sielschott, project lead for this wind-farm due diligence within TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH. Key criteria for successful support of this type of transaction include comprehensive expertise and high flexibility with respect to timing and scheduling.

With market capitalisation of approximately 8 billion euros, Czech energy supplier CEZ is one of the ten leading European energy suppliers. Around 26,000 employees work in over 100 subsidiaries, supplying consumers in Central and Eastern Europe with energy. CEZ has one of the lowest levels of debt in the energy supply industry. Even in the face of low wholesale electricity prices, CEZ has maintained its excellent rating (Standard & Poors: A-, stable outlook; as at: December 2015).

Long-standing experience with onshore and offshore wind power
TÜV SÜD looks back on a long and successful track record in the certification of both onshore and offshore wind farms, wind turbines and their components. The experts also support designers, installers, investors, owners and managers in risk assessment, occupational health and safety strategies, quality controlling during construction and technical due diligence. Other core fields of activity include quality assurance in component manufacturing, and periodic testing and inspection of wind turbines throughout their service lives.