Ever since Germany decided to phase out nuclear power, EnBW has relied on renewable energies. This year she wants to set the course. As a result of the war in Ukraine, board member Georg Stamatelopoulos senses a rethink that fits with the plans.
Karlsruhe (dpa/lsw) - The Karlsruhe energy supplier EnBW wants to push the expansion of renewable energies this year. The investment decision for the He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the North Sea is still pending in the first quarter, said CEO Georg Stamatelopoulos, who is responsible for sustainable generation infrastructure, the German Press Agency.
With an output of around 900 megawatts (MW) upon commissioning in 2025, EnBW's current energy generation from wind power at sea would be almost doubled. The first supply contracts, for example for the turbines, have already been concluded. However, the authorities still have to approve the construction before the final decision can be made.
"This wind farm is being built without subsidies," stressed Stamatelopoulos. "It's 100% based on the market." Electricity supply contracts (PPA) would be concluded in advance with companies such as Fraport, Evonik and Salzgitter, and others are in preparation. "We are aiming to sell around half of the capacity, i.e. 450 megawatts, via PPAs," said the 53-year-old. This trend - selling electricity on the market instead of subsidies - is a good development and allows "the real marketing of renewables," he said. "That's the path we see for all renewables."
On land - i.e. onshore - EnBW wants to almost double the capacity of almost one gigawatt (GW) by 2025. 180 MW are currently under construction. Basically, investments are made throughout Germany, said Stamatelopoulos. The largest projects are, for example, Prötzel II in Brandenburg with almost 38 MW, Lentföhrden in Schleswig-Holstein with 24 MW and Düsedau II with a good 22 MW in Saxony-Anhalt. With 12.6 MW, Hohenstadt in Baden-Württemberg is significantly smaller in comparison.
In order to make progress with the expansion and to be able to achieve the goals of the energy transition, the manager would like to see more areas designated for renewables and faster approval processes. Stamatelopoulos rated the steps taken by the federal and state governments as good. But more standardization and digitization is needed, especially when it comes to the approval of wind turbines.
It's not about sending the approximately 18,000 pages of paper that you have to submit for a wind farm as a PDF, he emphasized. "More staff and better IT support in the offices are needed to tackle the energy transition project."
The aim should be uniform checklists that the approval authorities go through. The authorities still proceeded differently, said Stamatelopoulos. Although there are uniform legal requirements. However, different conclusions would be drawn from this - for example with a view to dealing with the same species of birds or bats. The laws leave room for interpretation here, the board explained. The construction of terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shows how quickly things can go in Germany these days.
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) recently confirmed that 100 wind turbines should be built in the southwest next year. Stamatelopoulos considers this figure to be realistic. Since the beginning of the war in the Ukraine and the energy crisis, there has been a noticeable decline in popular resistance, and local councils and mayors are increasingly approaching EnBW with concrete project proposals. "Unfortunately, I think people only understood how important a secure energy supply is after the Ukraine war."
The amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act also played a role here, according to which municipalities would now be involved. "In addition, we also offer citizens a share in our wind farms and our photovoltaic systems," explained Stamatelopoulos. This is also accepted and improves the acceptance of the systems.
In photovoltaics - i.e. electricity from solar energy - EnBW has increased its portfolio tenfold to 824 MW in the past five years. An expansion of 90 or more than 200 MW is planned this year and next. By 2025, output should more than double here, too, said Stamatelopoulos.
In addition to Germany, France and Sweden are playing a growing role for EnBW when it comes to photovoltaics and wind power. In total, the group wants to have invested more than four billion euros in the expansion of renewable energies between 2021 and 2025.
The third largest German utility, EnBW, has been largely publicly owned since 2011. The state of Baden-Württemberg holds almost 47 percent of the group, and the OEW merger of nine Upper Swabian districts also owns almost 47 percent. Since Germany's agreed exit from nuclear power, the management has turned the former nuclear power company upside down to renewables.
Stamatelopoulos emphasized that the market had to function in order for the implementation to work without subsidies. For this it is important that the skimming of the proceeds remains limited in time as planned.
