BERLIN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - RWE sees room to
raise renewables investments in Europe, its chief executive
officer said on Monday, brushing off concerns the German power
producer's $6.8 billion purchase of Con Edison's green
energy arm would hurt spending on the continent.
RWE, the largest power producer in Germany, on Saturday
unveiled the planned purchase of Con Edison Clean Energy
Business, drawing criticism from activist fund Enkraft, which
slammed the deal as "incomprehensible" given Europe's energy
crisis.
"There was a strategic objective to especially make a step
forward in the U.S., which we now clearly achieved with this
transaction. But that does not mean that we're going to scale
back on our European and UK ambitions," RWE CEO Markus Krebber
told journalists.
Krebber said capital was not the limiting factor in Europe,
adding that the group may upgrade spending targets for the
continent when it updates markets on its renewables spending
plan at the end of 2023.
"Limiting factors are more ... remuneration frameworks, how
attractive are they but also still again getting the permits and
the planning speed up," Krebber said.
RWE is targeting gross investments of more than 50 billion
euros by 2030, with a heavy focus on solar and wind.
Three-quarters of that amount is to be spent in Europe.
Shares in the company were up 1.7% on Monday, a public
holiday in Germany while markets are open, with analysts at
Bernstein saying the deal is "positive for the RWE equity story
as it takes RWE to a position of prominence in the US renewables
space".
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz
Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Paul Simao)