Copenhagen denies assistance to Vestas

Denmark’s government has announced that it will not provide bailout efforts to green energy firm Vestas amid financial turmoil.

The company, which remains the largest producer of wind turbines worldwide, has seen its cash flow depleted by the development of its V112 turbine. The firm’s management has recently announced 3,700 job cuts over the summer in a bid to cut costs by EUR 250 million.

The project has reportedly gone substantially over budget; moreover, the company has also seen government subsidies slashed in the past year alongside weakening demand in both Europe and the United States.

Vestas has since sought assistance amid the period of hardship and, in July, convinced its lenders to temporarily defer its loan payment programme.

Howeverm on Tuesday, the country’s energy minister Martin Lidegaard said, “We cannot and will not support a single company. It is against the government’s general state aid policy,” Reuters reports.

The decision comes despite the country’s ongoing efforts to promote itself as a global centre of innovation in alternative energy. Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said in a statement early this month that a stubborn regional economy should not hamper investment in renewable energy.

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