Bonnhagen wind project

ENERTRAG SE is planning a major wind energy project with four modern turbines in the "Grieben-Ost" wind suitability area. These will generate over 60,000 MWh of clean electricity per year, enough for more than 20,000 households, and save around 40,000 tons of CO₂. In addition to environmentally friendly operation, the focus is on involving citizens and local authorities. The project is making a significant contribution to the energy transition and a sustainable future with 100% renewable energy.

Progress in the construction of Bonnhagen I

15/10/2024

Construction of the concrete towers for the four wind turbines at Bonnhagen I wind farm has now also begun. Construction should be completed by the end of the year.

Delivery of the rotor blades, nacelles and steel towers - which will be placed on top of the concrete towers - is scheduled for the last week of February 2025. To ensure smooth logistics, a special exit will be set up on the A20. This will lead through the forest at Törber Eiche directly into the wind field to the construction site and enable efficient and largely disruption-free delivery for local residents.

Assembly of the nacelles on the towers will begin at the start of March 2025. From mid-March to April 2025, the rotor blades will then be gradually mounted on the hubs with the help of large cranes.

Once all technical tests have been completed, the final commissioning is scheduled for August 2025.

Planning area and status of the procedure

The wind project area is located in the municipality of Stepenitztal (district of Nordwestmecklenburg) to the east of the municipality of Grieben and to the north of the village of Bonnhagen in an area previously used intensively for agriculture. The project area is bordered by railroad tracks to the north and the village of Börzow to the east.

The project area is suitable for the erection of wind turbines according to the standard state criteria of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is therefore designated as a wind suitability area in the current 3rd draft for the partial update of the energy chapter of the West Mecklenburg regional spatial development program with the area number 05/21 "Grieben-Ost".

The area is also very suitable for the planned project for several other reasons. These include

• Good wind conditions for efficient wind energy use
• Structural pre-determination by existing railroad line
• proximity to the existing 110 kV power line for the grid connection
• short distances during delivery and construction of the wind turbines due to proximity to the A20 motorway
• Suitable location in terms of noise and shadow impact emissions
• Large area of intensively used agricultural land

The area 05/21 "Grieben-Ost" has a total size of around 50 hectares, although only a few hectares are actually to be used for development. ENERTRAG has currently applied for and planned the construction and operation of 4 wind turbines in the area as part of the project applied for.

An application for approval in accordance with Section 4 BImSchG was submitted for the project in March 2022. As part of the approval process, the procedure will be presented in detail and publicly on 31.05.2022 as part of the municipal council meeting.

Planned wind turbines

The construction and operation of four Vestas V162/6.0 wind turbines with an output of 6.0 megawatts (MW) and a hub height of 169 m, rotor diameter of 162 m and a total height of 250 m is currently planned for the Bonnhagen wind project.

With a rated output of 6.0 megawatts (MW) and a rotor diameter of 162 m, the V162/6.0 is one of the highest-yielding turbines for locations with wind conditions away from the direct coastline. A single wind turbine can supply up to 5,000 households or 11,000 electric cars with clean electricity and save around 9,500 tons of CO2 per year.

The Vestas V162 is a high-yield turbine for locations with wind conditions away from the direct coastline. With a swept rotor area of over 20,000 m², the V162/6.0 MW uses one of the largest rotor sizes in the Vestas portfolio to achieve industry-leading power generation coupled with a high capacity factor.

Due to its large operating range, the V162/6.0 MW is relevant for low to medium wind speeds and has a wide applicability at high average wind speeds, allowing the turbine to adapt optimally to both individual site specifications and local wind conditions. The larger rotor can capture more wind, generating more energy and thus reducing electricity generation costs. The V162/6.0 also ensures that the highest possible energy yield is generated hand in hand with applicable noise protection requirements.

Demand-oriented firing

Wind turbines must be marked as an obstacle to aviation as soon as they exceed a total height of 100 meters. In practice, this means that entire wind farms flash red at night to warn approaching pilots. This lighting has become one of the biggest acceptance problems in the realization of wind energy projects, as it can also be perceived as a nuisance on the ground.

By installing a system for so-called demand-controlled night-time lighting (BNK), the night-time light emissions are also reduced by up to 95% for the wind project in Bonnhagen. The light is only activated when an aircraft within a radius of 4 km and at an altitude of less than 600 m approaches the wind farm.

ENERTRAG has brought the demand-controlled night-time marking system to series maturity in recent years and already offers solutions for the demand-controlled night-time marking of wind turbines through its subsidiary DARK SKY.

Citizen and municipal participation

Participation takes many forms. In addition to informal participation within the planning process, it is of course also about economic participation. In other words, ensuring that residents and communities in the vicinity of wind farms benefit appropriately from local wind power generation. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the economic participation of citizens and municipalities has even been regulated by state law since 2016, and there are also nationwide and ENERTRAG's own voluntary options.

The various forms of participation:

Participation in accordance with Section 6 EEG (Renewable Energy Sources Act)

As part of the 2021 amendment to the EEG, Section 6 makes it possible to offer municipalities within a radius of 2,500 meters of new wind turbines a unilateral grant or financial participation without consideration. The law does not yet apply retroactively to existing wind farms, but only to newly commissioned WTGs. The grant fulfills the following important criteria: It is to be offered voluntarily and is not earmarked for a specific purpose, it is not included in the calculation of the district levy and is paid annually over the entire 20-year EEG term of the WTG. The amount of the payment depends on the annual amount of energy fed into the grid by the WTG. ENERTRAG regularly offers this voluntary contribution to all municipalities in the specific project areas and is also willing to do so in this specific project.

ENERTRAG is planning an annual energy feed-in volume of 15,000 megawatt hours (MWh) for the Bonnhagen project. This feed-in quantity multiplied by the amount of EUR 2 per megawatt hour (0.2 cents/kWh) payable under Section 6 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) results in a calculated sum of EUR 30,000 per year, which in turn will be divided proportionately according to the municipal area or the area of the surrounding municipalities within a 2.5 km radius of the respective wind turbine, and will be paid to the municipalities annually for the duration of the operation of the wind turbine.

Citizen and Community Participation Act

The M-V Citizen and Community Participation Act obliges project promoters to offer shares of at least 20 percent in new wind farms to local residents and communities within a five-kilometer radius. Each share may cost a maximum of 500 euros.

Alternatively, a combination of an annual equalization levy for municipalities and a savings product for residents can also be offered. This reduces the risk for municipalities and residents. When acquiring shares in the wind farm company, both profits and losses from a project must be borne as part of the respective investment. The equalization levy for municipalities is fixed and is calculated on the basis of the profit expected from a 10% stake in the company. It is paid out annually and must be earmarked for infrastructure and energy-saving measures. In the case of the savings product for citizens, the minimum interest rate is also calculated on the basis of the wind farm yield.

Further information on the law is available from the State Energy and Climate Protection Agency M-V: www.leka-mv.de/Beteiligung/

Wind power bonus

ENERTRAG regularly offers a voluntary wind power bonus. Anyone who is a neighbor of an ENERTRAG wind farm, lives in the municipality of Stepenitztal and opts for a green electricity tariff from one of ENERTRAG's partner energy suppliers receives a discount on their electricity costs.

A bonus with which a discounted green electricity tariff (provided by partner municipal utilities), which is subsidized by ENERTRAG, is offered directly to the citizens of the municipality of Stepenitztal. Interested citizens can take out this green electricity tariff and apply for the wind power bonus directly from ENERTRAG. ENERTRAG will then pay out the bonus once per contract year directly to the customer's or citizen's account.