New wind company founded in Bavaria

08/11/2023

Source: Energy & Management Powernews

The project developer Ostwind founds a joint company with municipalities for the construction of wind turbines in northeast Bavaria.

In northeast Bavaria - more precisely in the districts of Wunsiedel, Hof, Tirschenreuth and Neustadt an der Waldnaab - new wind turbines are to be built. For this purpose, the project developer Ostwind Erneuerbare Energien GmbH from Regensburg and the municipal Zukunfts-Energie Nordostbayern GmbH (Zenob) have founded a new company: Windkraftwerke Nordostbayern GmbH (Winob). Both partners hold in the new enterprise with seat in Wunsiedel 50 per cent.

The new society Winob is to provide "for more generation of current from wind power in the region", is called it in a communication. Repowering projects are also to be looked out for. The goal, it says, is to exploit the region's full potential in terms of wind energy. "This is best achieved with locally rooted companies that know their stuff, that have the necessary know-how." In addition, he said, the local acceptance of renewable energies associated with value creation is very important.

Winob is to identify suitable areas for planning wind farms, which it will then lease if necessary. It then develops, builds and operates the turbines once they have been approved, and takes over both technical and commercial operational management after commissioning. The municipalities that hold shares in Zenob have a stake in all projects through them and can also participate directly in individual projects.

Zenob was founded as a cooperative venture by municipalities that want to act together across county boundaries. Its main goal is to "promote and implement the decarbonization of energy supply." Currently, 31 cities and municipalities from the region are shareholders in the company.

Thus, if desired, citizen participation in the newly emerging wind farms should also be offered. The Zenob and east wind, a subsidiary of the Danish energy enterprise Oersted, bring along for this according to own data extensive experience. The demand is there, they say, because "more and more people are recognizing the need for secure, regional, climate-neutral and independent energy production."

Author: Stefan Sagmeister