EnBW and Energiekontor conclude another long-term power purchase agreement for a large solar park

Bremen/Karlsruhe 10 February 2021: EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG and Energiekontor AG have again concluded a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for a solar park planned by Energiekontor. The solar park, which Energiekontor is planning to build in the municipality of Dettmannsdorf in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, east of Rostock, is to produce around 55.5 gigawatt hours of electricity per year with an installed capacity of approximately 52.3 megawatts. This is enough to cover the annual electricity needs of around 18,500 households. Construction is scheduled to begin in autumn 2021. Commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.

The power purchase agreement now concluded between EnBW and Energiekontor is the second between the two partners. The PPA concluded in 2019 was the first of its kind ever in Germany. A PPA allows Energiekontor to build and operate the solar park without EEG subsidies. The latest agreement stipulates that EnBW will purchase 100 per cent of the electricity at a fixed price. Within the agreed contract period of 15 years, the two companies assume a total produced electricity volume of around 830 gigawatt hours.

"EnBW stands for the market integration of renewable energies, both on the generation side and on the trading side. By 2025, around half of EnBW's generation portfolio will consist of renewable energies. Thanks to our many years of experience in the marketing of electricity from renewable energies, we can develop customised solutions for a wide range of scenarios, i. e. act as an intermediary between operators and industrial electricity consumers. With the current power purchase agreement, we and our partner Energiekontor are once again demonstrating that large solar parks can be realised in Germany without state subsidies. The broad support of all those involved in this project cannot be taken for granted and we are very pleased about it" explains Peter Heydecker, who is responsible for the business area Trading at EnBW.

"With our partner EnBW, we are not only united by the conviction that the future belongs to renewable energies, and all the more so the sooner wind and solar parks are connected to the grid, whose electricity production costs are lower than those of the conventional energy industry. With the renewed conclusion of a PPA, we are demonstrating that large solar parks can be realised economically outside the EEG regime. With the conclusion of this PPA, we will now quickly push ahead with the project development of the solar park in order to be able to put it into operation in the second quarter of 2022. "Peter Szabo, CEO of Energiekontor AG, is delighted.

It is remarkable that the project is not only explicitly and actively endorsed by the contracting parties, but by all project-relevant partners. This is almost unique for a project of this size and is related to the multitude of benefits for all parties involved. On the one hand, local non-profit organisations are supported, and on the other hand, local agribusinesses are strengthened through ongoing and long-term rental income, so that they have financial planning capability and resources for measures against the effects of climate change, such as periods of drought. The community generates rental and business tax revenue and employment opportunities for local businesses.