Following the approval from all relevant authorities, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has been formally established as of 1 April 2014.
The joint venture is responsible for the design, further development, procurement, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and service related to the V164-8.0MW turbine as well as all marketing, sales and after-sales service related to offshore wind. Vestas and MHI have transferred a total of 380 employees to the new entity, which is owned equally by the parent companies.
Anders Runevad, CEO of Vestas Wind Systems and vice chairman of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, is confident about the future of the new joint venture and states: "The Offshore wind power industry is very challenging and it takes just the right combination of reliable and proven technology, experience, knowledge and track record to succeed. I am confident that MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has exactly that right combination and I look forward to closely following the company towards becoming a global leader in offshore wind power."
"I am pleased to see MHI Vestas Offshore Wind now being operational. Vestas and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries each hold invaluable experience and knowledge which makes this joint venture an ideal opportunity and a technologically and financially robust platform to obtain a global leadership position within offshore wind," says chairman of the board of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, Masafumi Wani.
From a financial perspective, the closing of the joint venture will only have a marginal impact on Vestas’ 2014 revenues and earnings due to the deconsolidation of the offshore business unit. A gain on the joint venture transaction of around EUR 50m will be booked as a special item.
