Construction work has begun on Energiequelle GmbH’s repowering project at the Minden-Hahlen wind farm in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Three new Nordex N149 wind turbines, each with a total height of nearly 200 meters and a combined capacity of 17.1 megawatts, will replace five older turbines of the types NEG Micon NM 60/1000 and Enercon E-40.

With a rotor diameter of 149 meters and state-of-the-art technology, the new turbines will generate approximately 40,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. This represents an increase of around 600 percent compared to the output of the original wind farm.
“The repowering in Minden is a strategic step toward securing the future. With fewer turbines, we generate significantly more power, ensuring maximum land-use efficiency,” says Jan Schrobsdorff, Project Manager at Energiequelle GmbH. In the future, around 9,500 four-person households will be supplied with sustainably produced electricity from the wind farm.

The project was planned in close coordination with the city of Minden and the relevant authorities. Approval was granted under the Federal Immission Control Act in December 2024. All three turbines are scheduled to be commissioned by the end of October 2026.

Energiequelle GmbH, together with the citizens’ energy cooperatives “Saale-Holzland”, “Ilmtal” and “Jena” has been honored by the Thuringian Energy and GreenTech Agency (ThEGA). The award acknowledges the collaborative planning of the Großschwabhausen wind farm in the Weimarer Land region of Thuringia. A total of six Enercon E-160 wind turbines are planned, each with a hub height of 166.6 meters and a combined capacity of 33.36 MW. The close cooperation between Energiequelle and the participating cooperatives enables up to three of the six turbines to be transferred into citizen ownership, allowing local residents to directly benefit from the revenues generated by wind power.

Ramona Rothe, Head of the Wind Service Center at ThEGA, describes the project as a model for successful citizen involvement and regional value creation. Stefan Siegmund, Head of Project Management at Energiequelle’s Thuringian office, confirms: “The cooperation with the cooperatives is a forward-looking model that strengthens acceptance and participation.” Further projects with citizen energy stakeholders are already being planned in northern Thuringia.

Implementation in Two Construction Phases
Approval for the first construction phase, involving two turbines in the Kleinschwabhausen district, was granted in early July. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2027, with commissioning planned for May 2028. The second phase, comprising four additional turbines, is expected to receive approval in early 2026, with commissioning set for October 2028.

With the Großschwabhausen wind farm, Energiequelle is sending a clear signal for a decentralized and citizen-oriented energy transition in Thuringia.

As part of the repowering project in Raßlitz, Saxony, Energiequelle has successfully commissioned two Enercon E-160 wind turbines. These new turbines replace the previous E-58 models and feature a hub height of 166.6 meters and a capacity of 5.56 MW each. This upgrade increases the energy output eightfold. The projected annual energy yield of the new turbines is around 40.8 million kilowatt-hours, which is enough to supply more than ten thousand households with green, CO₂-free electricity – a significant step forward for the energy transition in the region.

Long planning phase
The commissioning of the new wind turbines followed a long and challenging planning process. The first planning steps by Energiequelle GmbH began back in 2013 and progressed with the signing of the lease agreements in 2017. It took another seven years before the potential site was designated as a priority and suitable area for wind energy in the regional development plan. With the establishment of planning rights in 2020, Energiequelle was able to submit the permit application under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG), which was approved in autumn 2022. The official declaration of completeness for the application, multiple changes to planning regulations due to Saxon legislation, and growing resistance to wind energy expansion in the state of Saxony were just some of the hurdles that had to be overcome.

A particularly demanding task was the construction of a dedicated substation, as Fabian Musall, Head of Project Management at Energiequelle’s Dresden office, explains: “After successfully participating in the Federal Network Agency’s tender and receiving the maximum award, we were informed that the originally planned substation was no longer available due to increased capacity. We had to quickly mobilize all resources to build our own substation.”

This effort was successful, and since June 20, the energy generated by the wind farm has been reliably fed into the public grid.

The wind farm has been sold to Encavis AG, a leading European renewable energy producer. The company operates a broadly diversified portfolio of onshore wind farms, ground-mounted solar installations, and battery storage systems.

Energiequelle GmbH has been successful in the Federal Network Agency’s May tender. The company received contracts for both submitted wind farm projects. In Ennigerloh, located in the Warendorf district of North Rhine-Westphalia, one wind turbine with a capacity of 5.56 MW is planned. In the repowering project in Gehlenberg (Cloppenburg district, Lower Saxony), five turbines with a total capacity of 27.8 MW are scheduled.

Ennigerloh is the first project at the still young Energiequelle site in Münster, while the company has been active in Gehlenberg for 25 years. The 13 old E-66 turbines are currently managed by Energiequelle’s operations team. Construction for both projects is scheduled to begin in 2026.

“The permits and contract awards are important milestones – both for our continued growth and for the transition to a sustainable energy supply in Germany,” says Michael Raschemann, Managing Director of Energiequelle GmbH.

Energiequelle GmbH has been awarded contracts for five submitted wind farm projects in the latest onshore wind energy tender. With a total of 143 MW, the company has achieved a significant success and is pleased that these projects are now one step closer to realisation.

The awarded projects include planned wind farms in Schleswig-Holstein (Wulfshagen, eight turbines totalling 49.6 MW), Thuringia (Bilzingsleben, five turbines totalling 27.8 MW and Werther, four turbines totalling 27.2 MW), North Rhine-Westphalia (Minden, three turbines totalling 17.1 MW) and Lower Saxony (Lüben, five turbines totalling 21.3 MW).

Gregor Weber, Senior Vice President Project Management at Energiequelle, expressed his satisfaction with this success: “I am pleased that we were able to secure contracts for all submitted projects, allowing us to soon start construction in four federal states. This is another important step for Energiequelle and for our planning security.”

Overall, the company has already installed more than 850 turbines with a total nominal capacity of 1,700 MW.

The permits for two Energiequelle GmbH wind farms in Germany were granted in December. In Lüben in Lower Saxony and Minden in North Rhine-Westphalia, preparations are now beginning for the tendering and construction of the eight turbines. The wind farms have a total capacity of 38.4 MW and will contribute to a sustainable energy supply in the regions in future.

Repowering in Minden
In Minden, in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Energiequelle is planning to dismantle two Enercon and three NEG Micon turbines as part of a repowering project. Three Nordex N149 turbines with a total height of 200 meters will then be installed. The new wind turbines each have an output of 5.7 MW and will increase the efficiency of the wind farm by more than 500 percent compared to the old farm. Jan Schrobsdorff, Project Manager at Energiequelle, is delighted that the decision was received in good time before Christmas: “After a lengthy development planning process and high bureaucratic hurdles, we were eagerly awaiting the approval. This is an important milestone in the project.”

Lüben wind farm
The BImSchG approval for the Lüben wind farm (municipality of Wittingen, Lower Saxony) was submitted in March of last year. Five Enercon E-138 turbines with a hub height of 160 meters and an output of 4.26 MW each are to be erected here. Lüben is Energiequelle's second wind farm in the municipality of Wittingen within a year. “Regional planning took more than ten years and demanded a lot of patience from us. The entire team is therefore very happy about the permit that we have been holding in our hands since December 20th” says Tina Hermerding, project manager in Wittingen.

All necessary steps and registrations for both parks are to be completed by February in order to participate in the next tender. Construction work is scheduled to begin this year, with commissioning planned for 2026.

In total, Energiequelle has received approvals for 15 projects with a nominal capacity of 290 MW (wind) and 74 MWp (PV) in 2024.