Qualitas Energy supports German local communities where its wind farms are present with more than 1 million euros in 2023

Qualitas Energy, a global investment and management platform focused on renewable energy, energy transition, and sustainable infrastructure investment, is giving municipalities a share in its economic success by paying a voluntary municipal levy of €2 / MWh for wind farms. This decision follows the amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), which allows wind farm operators in Germany to pay municipalities directly for the first time.

Qualitas Energy currently operates more than 350 MW of total wind energy capacity in Germany and will thus pay more than €1 million in voluntary municipal contributions in 2023.

After successfully implementing the pipeline, the local communities’ annual contribution will increase up to €5 million.

“We welcome the amendment of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) with the possibility of allowing municipalities to participate directly in the economic success of their efforts to implement the energy transition through paragraph 6”, explains Borja Caruana, Managing Director at Qualitas Energy Deutschland GmbH. “This means that the expansion of wind energy goes hand in hand with municipal participation, which from now on also provides economic impulses for project municipalities”, he adds.

The municipal levy according to §6 EEG helps improve the project municipalities’ economic situation. What the additional revenue is used for depends on the individual needs. Among other things, it is conceivable to support local associations, e.g., in the fields of sport, culture, and community, to support educational institutions such as schools or day-care centers, or to improve the regional infrastructure.

Qualitas Energy acquires wind farms in Germany to increase the production of environmentally friendly wind power through targeted turbine repowering in close cooperation with local residents and communities.

For residents and municipalities, the multiple reductions of land requirements, implementation of night-time signaling in line with demand, or the reduction of noise emissions are good arguments for this strategy. As the municipal levy according to §6 EEG is directly linked to electricity production, the payment increases especially for municipalities of repowering projects and serves as an additional incentive for them.

Qualitas Energy Deutschland GmbH is part of the Qualitas Energy Group, which is committed to driving the change towards a decarbonized economy. The company focuses on the acquisition, financing, project development, construction, and operation of onshore wind power plants with a team of more than 200 employees at its offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Wiesbaden, Trier, and soon also in Stuttgart.

theresa.tolle@qenergy.com

+49 30 8632 362 36