Investments
In May 2007, we announced a EUR60 billion investment program for 2007-2010 designed to make the supply of energy even more environmentally friendly, secure and reliable. Power generation is a key focus of our investments, with about EUR twelve billion planned for the organic growth of our conventional generation portfolio and EUR six billion for renewables. We’ve also investing EUR ten billion in natural gas production and storage.
Focus on Power Generation
A significant amount of E.ON’s EUR60 million investment fund for the period 2007 – 2010 is earmarked for organic expansion in the area of power generation. By building new generating units and boosting the output of existing units, we aim to meet the need for additional capacity. By using state-of-the-art technology, we’re improving the efficiency and environmental performance of our generation fleet, making us a technology pacesetter in our industry. We’re also investing in key technologies of the future, such as offshore wind farms, biomethane production facilities as well as carbon capture and storage.
Expanding our Gas Business
We invested EUR2.4 billion in 2007 in enlarging our natural gas business, of which EUR641 million went towards the purchase of a stake in the Skarv and Idun gas fields in the Norwegian Sea. We plan to invest another EUR one billion in further expanding our gas production operations. This will bring us closer to our objective of annually sourcing at least ten billion cubic meters of natural gas from our own production assets by the end of this decade. Another focus of our gas investments is the construction of Nord Stream, a gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea linking Russia and Germany.
Efficient Network Infrastructure
We’re also making substantial investments in powerful, freely accessible energy networks. Because we are an integrated energy company, we have a vital interest in efficient energy pathways that operate transparently and that earn the public’s trust. This is true whether we ourselves are the system operator or whether we’re a customer using another system operator’s services. It is fundamentally important for us to have expertise along the entire energy value chain, from production and trading to transmission, distribution and supply. Transmission and distribution networks are the pathways that connect our upstream business (power generation and natural gas production and importing) to our downstream business (end-customer supply).