VERBUND Acquires Wind Farms in Germany
VERBUND, Austria’s leading electricity company, is acquiring five wind farms in Rhineland-Palatinate with a total capacity of 86 MW from juwi, one of Germany’s leading project developers of wind, solar and bio-energy plants.
VERBUND is adding to its hydropower generation portfolio in Germany through a further strategic investment in its second most important market after Austria. Through the acquisition of five wind farms in Rhineland-Palatinate, with a capacity of 86 MW, VERBUND is consolidating its market position in Germany as a producer of electricity from renewable energies. The German project developer remains a minority shareholder, underpinning the local ties.
The wind farms have a total capacity of 86 megawatts and wird will annually generate some 255 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. This is sufficient to annually supply approx. 70,000 households with clean wind power. Commissioning is planned successively from the end of 2012 until mid 2013. The portfolio comprises 21 wind plants. Included among these are five ENERCON E-126 engines, which count amongst the largest currently available in the world on the international wind energy market. With a capacity of 7.5 MW, a type E-126 turbine is able to supply some 5,000 households with clean wind power.
A competent partnership
Joint optimisation of competences – this is particularly relevant for the energy turnaround. It is for this reason that the Wörrstädt project developer, juwi, is also especially pleased to have found a strong and reliable partner for its wind farms in Rhineland-Palatinate. In future, juwi will jointly operate the turbines with VERBUND. "VERBUND is an outstanding match for us," said the delighted juwi CEO, Matthias Willenbacher. "The Austrian electricity company is fully backing sustainable electricity generation and has so far already generated a good 90 percent of its electricity from renewable energies."
VERBUND has been operating successfully on the German electricity market for many years. Since 2009, the company has owned more than 13 hydropower plants on Bavaria’s river Inn and has shares in several border power plants. These power plants enable VERBUND to supply some 1.6 million households with clean hydropower. Wind power is the perfect supplement to hydropower and, as such, forms an important cornerstone in VERBUND’s company strategy. "The acquisition of this wind farm is a strategically important step for VERBUND," explained VERBUND CEO Wolfgang Anzengruber. "Germany is one of the most important target markets for VERBUND. We are delighted to be present in this forward-looking wind market alongside juwi, one of the most experienced and successful project developers in Germany," remarked Anzengruber.
