Insights into the industry and the company May 2021 Insidewpd specialist departments at the side of our project partners Page 3 Talking to each other is gold: increasing acceptance through communication Page 2 wpd celebrates commissioning in Chile Page 7 Onshore Germany Communication as the key to acceptance and the success of projects For the last ten years, the German Renewable Energy municipality from a project”, notes Ekkehard Agency (AEE) has been publishing the results of its Darge, technical Project Manager at wpd onshore. representative, Germany-wide survey of the level For example, thanks to the new Section 36k, of acceptance greeting the expansion of renewable municipalities can now share in every kilowatt hour energy. The approval ratings are consistently high; generated to the tune of 0.2 cents. According to the in 2020, 86% of respondents were in favour of faster Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, this can add expansion of regenerative energy. In addition, the up to roughly 20,000 euros per year per turbine, economic stimuli and opportunities for rural regions depending on the location and electricity yield. This were rated positively by 57%. But that should not give additional income from a wind farm for municipal rise to any assumption that project work on site is coffers and therefore for local residents represents an easy business. Communication work is subject to important momentum for greater acceptance. many requirements and is sometimes challenging. Transparent and above all personal dialogue is also an important door opener to such acceptance. Many After taking over a project from the sales department, of the concerns expressed are well documented: from technical project management gets down to infrasound via the shadows cast to the protection business. And initially, that means entering into a of birds. Reliable, objective information is a valuable dialogue with representatives of the local community asset here. However, during on-site planning for that is as intensive as it is open. Serious, explicit the wind farm, Ekkehard Darge has frequently commitment to a project can best be demonstrated experienced appreciation for the openness displayed face to face with the people on site. and for the strenuous endeavours to achieve a balance of interests that takes account of residents’ And that consists of more than just exploring the concerns. opportunities for local authorities and residents to participate in the project. On the one hand, a The positive effects can be seen by the example municipality can profi t as the landowner from leases of the Oldendorf-Kuhla project. Besides technical in connection with road and cable contracts. However, information, an approach in which concerns and the amendment to the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) fears are taken seriously can move mountains. Wind farm Langwedel in 2021 opens up completely new opportunities. Commitment, fairness and transparency can in Lower Saxony overcome many hurdles. “An open, honest dialogue, “For the fi rst time, we especially with the local citizens’ initiative, and have the chance to acknowledging local concerns, played a pivotal role generate direct value in obtaining approval for the project in Oldendorf- added for the Kuhla”, Ekkehard Darge explains. Starting in 2022, four turbines will produce green electricity here for 20,000 households per year. Residents can participate in the wind farm with a fi xed-interest loan. A success story facilitated in no small measure by the opportunities afforded by open communication. 2 Onshore Germany One contact for every phase of the project wpd specialist departments - Landscape planning & Environmental studies - GIS and CAD applications „One face“ of wpd - Approval procedures & urban land use planning The concept of “one face to the customer” - Compensation measures describes the principle that as a customer - Site assessment (noise, shadow, wind, turbulence) of a company, you should be able to rely on having a single point of contact. This - Repowering conception also applies to project collaborations - Grid connection planning at wpd. “Basically, the principle should rather be seen as “one team - Realization management for the customer”, explains Lars Planitz, deputy - Wind turbine purchasing Head of Project Procurement at wpd onshore GmbH & Co. KG. After all, besides complete - Legal department in-house project development, collaborations - Financing department with partners represent the second vital pillar of wpd’s business in the German market. One - PPA department permanent contact person works closely with - Operations management the project partner as well as with wpd’s various networked technical departments. As part of - Solutions for special technical issues (On-demand night marking etc.) the project collaboration, the entire process of project development is thus supported through every phase, from the initial idea to its realisation “And thanks to the wide range of expertise available and commissioning of the turbines. This guarantees in house, we can provide comprehensive support at that the specifi c tasks in each phase of the project are any time”, Lars Planitz adds. expertly supported, coordinated and implemented. This holistic approach offers a further benefi t: wpd All the expertise that wpd has established in over 20 assumes risks in any collaboration and provides years of project development is thus available. In the partners with fi nancial support. The development German market, the company currently works with of a wind or photovoltaic project can certainly be 50 collaboration partners in approx. 160 projects, driven under your own steam – at least on paper – offering all the services required for the successful by engaging different service providers for different implementation of a project. tasks. This may seem to add up to a fi nancially lucrative proposition at fi rst, but the bottom line is This is of particular signifi cance in challenging that you also bear the fi nancial risk on your own. In phases of the development work. Whether it’s expert addition, you may have to deal with ten contacts at reports as part of species protection investigations, the same time instead of one at wpd who supports, approvals such as applications in compliance with coordinates and acts as the fulcrum. the specifi cations of the Federal Immissions Control Act (BImschG) or grid connection planning: the Linking the principle of “one face to the customer” to relevant technical departments can all be found that of “one team for the customer” delivers success under one roof at wpd. as wpd possesses the bundled expertise ultimately needed to fi t all the pieces together from a single “We like to use the image of a jigsaw puzzle here”, source. says Kim Becker, Head of Project Procurement at wpd onshore. “A project is made up of many different pieces like a jigsaw puzzle which all fi t together to form the big picture.” If there are pieces missing, the optimum completion of the project that all participants are striving for, will also miss the mark. 3 Onshore International Project realization on diffi cult terrain: wpd Italia starts implementation Planned turbine location of fi rst wind project near Licata The transformation of the energy system in Italy is particularly urgent. The recent study „The European Power Sector 2020“, published by the think tank Ember and Agora Energiewende, emphasises that in the EU in 2020, 38% of the energy demand will be covered by renewable energies. The percentage of renewable energies for Italy, on the other hand, is just 19%, making Italy one of the countries - according to the study - „that could continue to lag behind despite excellent solar and wind conditions.“ Promoting renewable energy is almost a political Licata on Sicily, Italy‘s largest island after Sardinia, consensus. What makes their expansion so diffi cult can look back on a history as an important trading are, on the one hand, bureaucratic obstacles and, on centre. For the team of wpd Italia, however, the town the other, the national approval process. The latter of 36,000 inhabitants has a very special signifi cance. takes an average of fi ve years for the approval of wind energy projects. Two ministries play a leading It is here that the Licata wind farm will be built, the role in the approval process: the Ministry for the fi rst project in wpd‘s pipeline in Italy to enter the Environment and the Ministry responsible for realization phase. The Licata project in Sicily has a Italy‘s cultural heritage. Here, two different guiding Soil samples taken total capacity of 31.05 MW and will consist of nine principles collide: the protection of the environment at the planned site turbines of 3.45 MW each. The company currently and climate meets the preservation of the landscape. has a further 10 projects with a total capacity of Confl ict is inevitable here, with the corresponding about 700 MW in the approval process in the country, consequences of considerable delays. located in central and southern Italy, in the fi ve regions of Lazio, Puglia, Campania, Calabria and In addition to an upcoming advertising campaign by Sardinia. the Italian wind association ANEV, the associations of renewable energies were recently received in In February 2021, wpd Italy‘s team registered the the Italian parliament to take a position on new project in the portal of GSE, the state authority for measures. They underlined the importance of the energy services, to participate in the fi fth round renewable energy sector and the contribution it of the auction. Under a new decree, government can make, not only in terms of reducing emissions, subsidies are to be awarded through a competitive but also in terms of job creation. Due to the clear auction system to project developers with approved backlog, not only by comparison with other European projects ready for construction. The new subsidy countries, Italy should promote the growth of system provides for seven quarterly auction rounds, renewable energies with much more emphasis.