Danish Toymaker Lego A/S has taken a stake in a German offshore wind farm but, according to a Bloomberg story, aims to use the energy internally and not enter a new business line.
The story says that Lego contributed about one-third of the financing for the 1.25 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind park, which is being developed by Dong Energy S/A, another Danish company. It is north of the island of Borkum in the North Sea.
The investment is part of Lego’s goal of being entirely renewable-driven by 2020. The wind farm will have 78 turbines and deliver 312 MW of energy. Commentary at the story says that such investments have two benefits. The first is simply that such moves please consumers. Generation costs are receding, which means that the investments can turn a profit even as subsidies slow.
MAKE, a consultancy in Denmark, predicts that Europe may development more than 144 GW of wind capacity during the next ten years. Last year, the organization said, there was growth of 13 GW – 7.7 percent – in the market compared to 2013. Seven nations (Germany, Sweden, France, Turkey, Austria, Ireland and Finland) set national records, according to a report in Clean Technica. The market is expected to grow another 8.7 percent this year.