Vestas secures first citizen-owned wind park order from German auction in 2017 and welcomes permit requirements for all projects

By working closely with each individual customer to optimise their projects for competitive auctions, Vestas has secured its first order for a citizen-owned wind park from 2017’s second auction round in Germany. The order is placed by long-term customer Rakower Bürgerwindpark GmbH & Co. KG and is for the repowering of a citizen-owned wind park located in Rakow, eastern Germany, at the Baltic Sea. The project will replace four V66-1.65 MW turbines with four V117-3.45 MW turbines, totaling 14 MW, which more than doubles the installed capacity and triple the annual energy production due to the more efficient turbines.

“The quick transition from auction results to order intake for this project was only possible due to a close collaboration between Rakower Bürgerwindpark GmbH & Co. KG and Vestas, which shows our ability to help customers win in very competitive auction environments”, states Nils de Baar, President Vestas Northern & Central Europe.

The bid was made without building permit in the second auction round in 2017, at which point project developers could participate in German auctions without permits. As a result, almost 97 percent of the accepted volume was awarded to projects without building permits. The lack of permits created long realisation timelines of up to 54 months, which raised concerns that a significant share of these projects will be delayed or not build at all.

Vestas therefore welcomes the German Parliament’s recent decision to request permits for all projects to participate in auctions for the next two years. Commenting on the decision, Nils de Baar said: “To ensure the necessary investment and planning security, Vestas welcomes the decision to request permits for all projects to participate in auctions. A higher number of permitted projects and a streamlined, simplified permitting process is now urgently needed.”

Speaking to the significant benefits the repowered citizen-owned wind farm will provide in the region, Horst Podssun, Entrepreneur and private developer of the Rakower Bürgerwindpark GmbH & Co. KG, says: “After several delays, we finally managed to receive the building permission in early 2018. It was a great achievement to compete and win against mainly newer technology in the second auction round. We appreciated going all the way with a supportive partner in Vestas and are looking forward to commissioning in 2018. The repowering project is a great step for the renewable power supply of the region with participation of citizens and the local community.”

The order includes supply and commissioning of the wind turbines and a full-scope service agreement (AOM 4000) for 20 years. The service agreement also includes the VestasOnline® Compact SCADA solution. Wind turbine delivery and commissioning is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2018.