(Wiesbaden, 20 February 2020) Despite the continuing backlog of permits, which is hampering the expansion of wind energy in Germany, ABO Wind is reporting successes in its home market. In the first tenders of 2020, the Wiesbaden-based project developer secured tariffs for wind farms in Einöllen (Rhineland-Palatinate, 15.9 megawatts) and at the Spreeau motorway junction (Brandenburg, 25.2 megawatts). In Einöllen, ABO Wind is constructing three General Electric turbines with a rotor diameter of 158 metres and a capacity of 5.3 megawatts each. At the Spreeau motorway junction, not far from the planned Tesla factory, six Vestas turbines (150 metres rotor diameter, 4.2 megawatts capacity each) will be connected to the grid.
As the Federal Network Agency announced, the tender was clearly undersigned: The 900 megawatts put out to tender were offset by 67 bids with a volume of 527 megawatts. 523 megawatts won the bid with an average value of 6.18 cents/kWh. ABO Wind thus received around 8 percent of the volume awarded.
ABO Wind has recently received the approval for two further wind turbines (nine megawatts) in Gielert, Rhineland-Palatinate, with which ABO Wind expects to participate in the tariff tender on 1 June. In Gielert, the project developer is planning Nordex Acciona turbines with a rotor diameter of 149 metres and a capacity of 4.5 megawatts each.
All three wind farms are scheduled to be connected to the grid in 2021 and together will produce enough electricity to supply 43,000 households. ABO Wind expects approvals for further German wind farms in the coming months.
"The satisfaction about the latest successes does not hide the fact that we are facing a persistent lack of permits for wind energy in Germany," says Dr. Thomas Treiling, General Manager at ABO Wind responsible for project development in Germany. "Neither federal nor state policy has so far defused the critical situation. Our industry, for example, is still waiting for a strengthening of municipal value creation from wind energy so that more sites can be made available."
