Press release, May 15, 2024
Mosbach Wind Farm: Iqony wins bidding process
Signing of license agreements with the town of Mosbach and the Stiftung Schönau foundation
Mosbach/Essen. Iqony, the green growth division of the STEAG Group, has been awarded the contract in the bidding process for the planned Mosbach wind farm in the Neckar-Odenwald district of Baden-Württemberg. The company is one of the leading developers and operators of onshore wind farms in Germany and Europe.
“We are delighted that we have now laid the foundation for construction of the Mosbach wind farm. We will tackle this quickly together with our local partners,” emphasized Joel Wagner, Head of the Wind business unit at Iqony, on the occasion of the signing of the licensing agreements with the landowners. In addition to the town of Mosbach, the Heidelberg-based Stiftung Schönau is contributing a large proportion of the land. The Mosbach site – located around 25 kilometers north of Heilbronn – was carefully selected on the basis of its excellent wind potential and minimal conflicts with residential areas.
Attractive investment options for landowners
Iqony’s many years of experience in working closely with municipal partners, the local population and landowners to establish wind farms, as well as the attractive investment options for the landowners and the financial participation of the surrounding municipalities, were convincing factors in the bidding process. In addition to annual lease income as a stable and long-term source of income, the participation model also includes a profit share based on actual electricity sales. “These direct investments strengthen local commitment and acceptance of the park,” Joel Wagner explains. Both the basic fee per megawatt (MW) and the profit-sharing mechanisms on offer show that Iqony is committed to creating sustainable value for all stakeholders in a project of this kind.
After its planned completion in 2028, the wind farm will have an installed capacity of around 61 MW and generate enough green energy to cover the annual electricity needs of around 45,000 households. The planned lifetime of the wind farm is 25 years.
Reliable partners for groundbreaking project
“We are delighted to have an experienced and reliable partner at our side for this project in the form of Iqony,” emphasizes Ingo Strugalla, CEO of Stiftung Schönau. The majority of the land for the future wind farm is owned by the foundation.
The town of Mosbach takes a similar view: “Iqony is the ideal partner for us, as the company builds all of its wind farms in Germany with municipal participation and therefore has a lot of experience with project development and implementation in partnership,” says Mosbach’s mayor Julian Stipp. The planned wind farm will make a significant contribution to a sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply in the region. In addition, Iqony is already committed to financial participation by the neighboring municipalities in accordance with Section 6 of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). This means that a total of 2 euros per megawatt hour generated will flow into the municipal budgets in future.
Once the contracts have been signed, the project partners will begin with the actual development and planning of the wind farm. “Together with the town of Mosbach and Stiftung Schönau, we want to engage in intensive dialogue and broadly based cooperation with all local stakeholders,” emphasizes Dennis Nilles, Iqony’s on-site project manager for the Mosbach wind farm. For example, there will be regular information events and a dedicated website through which up-to-date information on the Mosbach wind farm will be communicated.
Iqony plans further growth with renewables
For Iqony, the planned wind farm in Mosbach is also an expression of the company’s growth strategy: “We want to grow in Germany and Europe, particularly in the area of renewable energy generation using wind and solar power. The project in Mosbach is an important building block in our overall strategy,” explains Dr. Andreas Reichel, CEO and Labor Director of Iqony.
In addition, the Mosbach wind farm is also of further strategic importance for Iqony because it could in future supply the green energy with which Iqony intends to produce green hydrogen at Völklingen-Fenne in nearby Saarland: “Linking the two projects creates synergies and so the Mosbach wind farm will also contribute to the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Germany,” explains Dr. Ralf Schiele, CEO and COO of Iqony.
