SeaEnergy wins ‘Rosenblatt New Energy Company of the Year’ award

SeaEnergy (AIM: SEA) has been named Company of the Year at the Rosenblatt New Energy Awards 2010. The award recognises the company which made the most meaningful progress or made the biggest impact in the renewable energy sector during the year. The company is currently participating in the large government-backed offshore wind-farm development in the North Sea.

SeaEnergy’s Renewables unit was recognised ahead of fellow nominees Eaga (LSE: EAGA), Terra Firma associate company Infinis and privately-owned Dulas. The Renewables team conceived, developed and delivered the world’s first deep water wind farm development, the Beatrice offshore wind farm demonstrator project.

“Offshore wind power generation is going to make a major contribution to the UK’s energy needs and we’re very excited to be at the heart of it”, SeaEnergy Renewables CEO Joel Staadecker stated.

In January, SeaEnergy confirmed that its joint venture with Portugal’s EDP Renovaveis S.A. (EDPR) was awarded acreage by The Crown Estate to develop offshore wind farms in the Moray Firth, Scotland, with an approximate installed capacity of 1.3 GigaWatt as part of the UK Round 3 awards, enough to power 730,000 homes.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed by EDPR, SeaEnergy’s 80%-held unit SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd and The Crown Estate, the companies have been awarded the exclusive rights to develop wind farm sites within the Zone 1 of the latest round.

The company was also awarded two development sites in the Scottish Round, with partners Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE) and RWE’s (XETRA: RWE) Npower unit, with a capacity of 1.8 GW.

As noted by Staadecker at last night's awards ceremony, the offshore wind-power industry represents a significant part the UK’s renewable energy strategy. In a recent study, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said that the UK, along with Denmark, is one of the largest wind-power generators in Europe.

According to the EWEA, the UK and Denmark accounted for 44% and 30% of European capacity in 2009, respectively. The trade association said the offshore wind industry generated turnover of approximately €1.5 billion in 2009 and it expects this to double in 2010, reaching over €3 billion.

In the coming year, the trade association expects a further ten offshore wind farms to add 1,000 MW, representing equivalent year-on-year market growth of 75%. Last year five countries built new offshore wind farms: UK (284 MW), Denmark (230 MW), Sweden (30 MW), Germany (30 MW) and Norway (2.3 MW).  http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/13799/seaenergy-wins-rosenblatt-new-energy-company-of-the-year-award-13799.html