Wind Power on the Schwend Ridge – Koehler Renewable Energy Engages in Open Dialogue with Citizens and Provides Full Disclosure of Information

For the Koehler Group, its planned wind farm on the Schwend ridge is an investment in the future. It will not only boost the competitiveness of regional paper production, guaranteeing job security for current and future generations, but will also make an important contribution to sustainable energy production.

From the get-go, the company has decided that full transparency and dialogue with the public are the way to go. “We take the concerns and apprehension of every single member of the public very seriously, and the petition for a referendum has of course made them loud and clear. For a few weeks now, there have been increasing rumors and assertions that have no basis in science and that are making people worried about things that aren’t true,” says Nicolas Christoph, Corporate Director of Wind Power, Solar, Hydro & Business Development at Koehler Renewable Energy. This is why Koehler Renewable Energy, while fully respecting the outcome of the legal review of the submitted documents and any process that might follow, is providing full and transparent disclosure of information for the project and the topic of wind power through a variety of channels, including expanding its dialogue with the public.

Sustainable power production and climate protection

With an annual output of more than 15,000 MWh per wind turbine, the wind farm will make an invaluable contribution to Germany’s Energy Transition. The power produced this way will not only be environmentally friendly but will be used to directly supply the paper mill at the Oberkirch site and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. It will also help with the Koehler Group’s project of generating more renewable energy with its own plants than required for the production of its paper by 2030. The company is also leaving open the option of expanding the wind farm with additional wind turbines with the approval of and in cooperation with the surrounding communities.

Regional value creation and a boost to the economy

The wind farm on the Schwend ridge should make a crucial contribution to the value that is created regionally. Local paper production will become less dependent on rising energy costs, ensuring the aforementioned job security for current and future generations. Not only this, but as one of the biggest sources of business tax in the town of Oberkirch, the Koehler Group plays a vital role in keeping the town financially healthy, which is something that the company is very proud of. And on top of this business tax, the project will result in annual lease revenue of over 200,000 euros for the community budget, which corresponds to a total of more than five million euros over the life of the project.