The German federal state of Bavaria aims to transfer all 97 local hydropower plants of energy major Uniper SE (ETR:UN01) to a state-owned operating company to take control of its energy supply and implement flood protection measures, Bavaria's minister of environment, Thorsten Glauber, said in a letter to the federal government.
The plants, located on the rivers Danube, Isar, Lech, and Main, have a combined capacity of around 970 MW and an annual electricity output of roughly 4,800 GW/h. The portfolio also includes two pumped storage plants.
A joint operating company with the federal government is also possible, Glauber said in the letter published on Thursday. Overall, the minister urged the government, which currently controls Uniper, to engage in discussions over the future of the hydropower plants. According to Glauber, the potential operating company must be established in time to conduct re-licensing procedures as permits for the facilities will gradually expire from 2030.
Currently, the German federal government holds 99% of Uniper after bailing out the company in 2022. The firm, which was mainly active in the distribution of gas, went into dire straits because of the discontinued deliveries of Russian gas to Europe in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict.
At the start of August, Uniper revealed a strategy to invest over EUR 8 billion (USD 8.75bn) through 2030 to transform itself into a greener company. According to a previous statement of CFO Jutta Doenges, the energy major also aims to return to “predominantly private hands as an independent company” as quickly as possible.
(EUR 1 = USD 1.093)
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