Wind farm Karstädt inaugurated: ENGIE quadruples energy yield after repowering

Berlin - ENGIE officially inaugurated today the repowered wind farm Karstädt-Waterloo. Over the past two years, 20 wind turbines had been dismantled after two decades of operation and replaced by seven new turbines. Through this measure, ENGIE expanded the installed capacity of the wind farm, located about 150 kilometers northwest of Berlin, from 26 to 43.4 megawatts. With powerful new turbines and a total height of almost 250 meters, the wind farm now generates four times as much energy on the same area as before and makes an important contribution to the climate targets of the German government. The new Vestas V162 turbines, each with 6.2 megawatts, generate around 110 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This corresponds to the consumption of about 26,000 four-person households.
 

Wind farm Karstädt stands for a sustainable future

"Our goal at ENGIE is to actively drive forward the energy transition. Thanks to the project in Karstädt, we have taken an important step forward on this path, as this is ENGIE's most significant repowering project in Germany," emphasised Ralf Schürkamp, Chief Renewable Officer of ENGIE Deutschland AG, at the inauguration, which he carried out together with Sergio Val, Managing Director of ENGIE Renewables Europe and Eric Stab, CEO of ENGIE Deutschland AG, in the presence of the mayor of Karstädt, Udo Staeck. Mayor Udo Staeck summed up in his speech: "The repowering is a significant step towards a sustainable future here in Karstädt. We are pleased to have the right partner at our side in ENGIE. Our cooperation is characterised by mutual respect and trust." The electricity produced at the wind farm is marketed in an optimised manner by ENGIE's trading department as part of a power purchase agreement with guarantees of origin. In addition, ENGIE recycles the dismantled old turbines in the spirit of the circular economy: the materials were collected and processed and are available for new industrial applications. Furthermore, the concrete from the old foundations was used to lay the new access roads.
 

ENGIE contributes to efficient and sustainable energy transition

ENGIE is currently preparing the second construction phase of the repowering in Karstädt, which will be realised in 2024/2025. In addition, there are further repowering projects in Germany, including in Lövenich and in Querstedt, as well as several greenfield projects in onshore wind and ground-mounted photovoltaics under construction. The aim is to continuously expand the activities in renewable energies in the coming years. With 38 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity, ENGIE is one of the top five companies worldwide in renewable energies and plans to invest more than 13 billion euros in renewable energies from 2023 to 2025, half of which in Europe.

Fourfold energy yield after repowering: Eric Stab and Ralf Schürkamp, board members of ENGIE Deutschland AG, Sergio Val, Managing Director of ENGIE Renewables Europe and Udo Staeck, Mayor of Karstädt, inaugurated the Karstädt-Waterloo wind farm.