Partnership to expand German wind power

Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has partnered with German hybrid tower producer Max Bögl Wind AG in a cooperation model set to propel wind power in Germany. Under the framework partnership agreement, project developers planning a Siemens Gamesa wind turbine will be able to purchase hybrid towers directly from Max Bögl, reducing the number of interfaces and further optimising costs.

One of the first projects to use the new contractual structure is the Coesfeld Letter Bruch wind farm, which is being developed by the SL NaturEnergie group.

Under the cooperation model, project participants will work together to make wind power expansion in Germany more attractive as market conditions become tougher. The wind farm project in Coesfeld highlights the importance of new kinds of partnerships and intensive discussions among all project participants in challenging times.

“There are obvious advantages for the end customer in buying the hybrid towers directly, and this substantially increases the profitability of the Coesfeld project,” Max Bögl Wind CEO Josef Knitl said.

Siemens Gamesa’s Onshore CEO for the NE&ME region, Clark MacFarlane, said, “In recent years, we have brought down the costs of wind energy significantly through technological innovations and efficient project management. The Coesfeld project shows how close cooperation between suppliers and project developers can lead to profitable wind farms even at challenging sites.

“We are delighted that together with SL NaturEnergie and Max Bögl Wind AG, we have succeeded in launching a major project that demonstrates the great potential of wind energy in Germany.”

With 13 state-of-the-art wind turbines, the project in the western Münsterland region is currently one of the largest wind energy projects in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Project planners like SL NaturEnergie remain committed to clean electricity from renewable sources. The Coesfeld Letter Bruch wind farm will be operated by SL NaturEnergie together with Emergy as a joint venture owned by the Coesfeld and Borken municipal utilities and Letter Wind, a ‘citizen energy association’. This will see much of the value generated by the plant staying in the region to benefit local people directly.

“The wind farm has the broad support of local citizens and the community. It sets an example for the region and beyond,” SL NaturEnergie Managing Director Milan Nitzschke said.

“In Coesfeld, from the outset we focused on cooperating with municipal utilities and landowners. This is complemented by citizen participation and a civic foundation that supports local social initiatives. It is important to us that as many people as possible who are involved in the energy transition and helping to protect future generations should also be able to share in the value created.”

The wind turbines in Coesfeld will play a significant role in making the town’s energy supply more climate-friendly. They will produce around 125,000,000 kWh of clean electricity every year — enough to supply almost 36,000 three-person households, while saving more than 53,000 tons of climate-harming CO₂.

Image caption: The Coesfeld Letter Bruch wind farm site. Image credit: Max Bögl Wind AG.