Germany’s Naturstrom to expand wind, solar and district heating ambitions

German independent power producer (IPP) Naturstrom has earmarked more than €70m ($76m) for the construction of several wind and solar parks and local district heating grids, about double the amount invested in 2014.

The renewable IPP said it plans to participate in upcoming tenders for ground-based PV arrays, although it doesn’t consider tenders the ideal instrument for smaller energy projects.

As well as selling energy from 100% renewable sources since 2004, Naturstrom has also been developing and running its own renewable plants, a business it subsidises with a small fee included in its electricity price.

The company currently has 57MW of wind, PV and biomass plants in operation, and plans to build a 43MW wind park at Forchheim in northern Bavaria state this year.

“The pipeline (of new RE projects) is well filled. For 2016, we plan investments of a similar size,” says Christoph Ströer, head of Naturstrom’s energy generation business.

Source: Rechargenews.com