Setting new trends together: RWE and Kerpen municipal utility to jointly develop two wind farms

Kerpen municipal utility and RWE Renewables have signed a statement of intent. Part of the agreement is the joint development of two wind farms within the Kerpen municipal area. The wind farms with a total installed capacity of around 50 megawatts (MW) are to be constructed on the Marienfeld field and along the A4 motorway. Both areas are part of the ongoing rezoning process in the town, which was the birthplace of priest and social reformer Adolph Kolping. With this significant step, the two parties are helping to drive the energy transition in the Rhein-Erft district.

Katja Wünschel, COO Wind Onshore & Photovoltaic Europe & Asia-Pacific at RWE Renewables: “With our ‘Growing Green’ growth strategy, we are massively stepping up the pace of expanding wind and solar generation facilities this decade. Germany, our home market, plays an important role in this endeavour. And we are also increasingly entering into local partnerships. These are essential for the energy transition to succeed. We are particularly delighted that we can do all this in the Rhenish mining district once again and lay the foundation for more green electricity in the town of Kerpen together with the local municipal utility.”

“The energy transition in the regions is an important part of our corporate strategy. The Kerpen municipal utility was set up with the objective to supply 100% green energy and we are also working on future-oriented projects like green hydrogen production. We are delighted to have an experienced and competent partner on board in RWE to support us in expanding renewables in the region and help us contribute towards a successful energy transition,” explains Michael Kreusch, managing director of Kerpen municipal utility.

RWE is a global leader in the renewables sector. In the 2020s, the company wants to invest up to €15 billion gross in the expansion of offshore and onshore wind, solar, storage, flexible back-up capacities and hydrogen in its home market of Germany. Currently, RWE operates onshore wind farms with an installed capacity of more than 580 MW in the country. In order to drive the expansion forward, the company is entering into local partnerships. In the Rhenish mining district, for example, RWE operates the Königshovener Höhe wind farm in collaboration with the town of Bedburg on recultivated land, which was previously part of the Garzweiler opencast mine. It features a total installed capacity of 67 MW. Close to this project the Bedburg A 44n wind farm, another joint project with the town of Bedburg, is being constructed, also on a former opencast mining site. It will be comprised of five wind turbines with a nominal capacity of 5.7 MW each and is due to be commissioned in 2022.

“Both partners have strong connections with the region and the town of Kerpen, so entering into the wind energy project in Kerpen together made a lot of sense. RWE has plenty of experience in building and operating wind farms in the district. The municipal utility has close links with the local residents and can take Kerpen forward by implementing these projects,” Michael Kreusch adds.

The Kerpen municipal utility has been driving cutting-edge energy concepts since 2019 and wants to support the Kerpen region in implementing structural change and the energy transition. In addition to green electricity and natural gas distribution, the Kerpen municipal utility is focusing on e-mobility by driving the installation of charging infrastructure in the private, public and semi-public domains. A key component of their business model is sustainable electricity generation utilising PV systems or wind power. A PV plant in Kerpen-Buir is among the first projects in this field.