A new wind farm is being built in the municipality of Werther and the rural town of Bleicherode in Germany, featuring four Nordex N163 turbines. Energiequelle GmbH is developing the project in collaboration with local partners Helmetal eG and FEUER powerair GmbH. Each wind turbine will have a hub height of 164 meters and a rated output of 6.8 megawatts. In theory, this will allow the supply of renewable electricity to around 15,000 households and save approximately 37,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents annually.

Project development began ten years ago. The application under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) was submitted in November 2022, and approval was granted in September 2024. Following the successful bid in the wind energy tender in April, construction has officially commenced. Foundation work is scheduled for April 2026, with full commissioning of all turbines planned for January 2027.

Maria Löther, Project Manager at Energiequelle GmbH in Erfurt, expressed gratitude for the perseverance of all involved: “Both the municipalities and the landowners, as well as our cooperation partners, have shown great patience. The start of construction marks an important milestone and confirms that our trust in the project has paid off.”

Hans-Jürgen Weidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Helmetal eG, is also pleased about the groundbreaking: “Revenue from the wind farm will help refinance a community wind turbine – laying the foundation for local citizens to benefit from the expansion of wind energy in Thuringia.”

Following the launch in Sömmerda, the Werther wind farm is already the second Energiequelle project to be implemented in Thuringia. Additional wind farms are set to begin construction in 2026.

This week, Energiequelle GmbH celebrates the 15th anniversary of the energy self-sufficient village of Feldheim in Germany. Since 2010, the small village in Brandenburg has been making energy history and is recognized nationwide as the first place with independent electricity and heat supply from renewable sources.

The impressive overall concept for decentralized, renewable energy supply was realized jointly with businesses, private households, and municipalities. Energiequelle planned and built the components of this concept turnkey-ready and using state-of-the-art technology.

The foundation of the electricity supply is the nearby wind farm, currently consisting of 52 wind turbines. Most of the electricity is fed into the public grid, as just one turbine is sufficient to supply Feldheim’s approximately 130 residents. The heat supply is provided by a biogas plant, built in 2009 in cooperation with the agricultural cooperative. When temperatures drop below a certain threshold, a woodchip heating plant kicks in, and for short-term heat demand, a power-to-heat system is activated, powered by green electricity from the wind farm. Since 2010, a battery storage system has complemented the energy supply, balancing short-term fluctuations in the power grid.

A newly constructed distribution system linked the energy sources into a regional energy supply network. This was made possible by building a dedicated local heating network and an independent electricity grid, to which all Feldheim households were connected. To manage this, they founded an energy supply company, Feldheim Energie GmbH & Co. KG, which includes the city of Treuenbrietzen, local businesses, and Energiequelle.

Since October 2010, Feldheim has been officially energy self-sufficient, impressively demonstrating that decentralized energy transition is not just a vision but a lived reality.

Michael Raschemann, founder and managing director of Energiequelle GmbH, is grateful for the strong collaboration with all parties involved: "The openness in Feldheim, along with the willingness and curious interest to make a difference together, enabled the development here. By involving the municipality, businesses and all citizens, we can not only supply the village sustainably with clean energy but also share in the revenues."

Siegfried Kappert, a resident of Feldheim, confirms: "Politically and economically, we unknowingly took the right path back then. Today, we are proud to be part of Feldheim and to share our story." And they do share it. Not only do media outlets from around the world regularly visit Feldheim, but also politicians, school classes, university students, and other interested parties. Beyond technical development, education is a key pillar of Feldheim’s success story. The Neue Energien Forum (NEF) was established as a modern education and experience center, offering guided tours, project days, and an interactive exhibition on renewable energy. In 2024, the NEF was honored with the National Award “Education for Sustainable Development” by the German UNESCO Commission. The exhibition center welcomes more than 3,000 visitors annually.

Michael Knape, mayor of Treuenbrietzen, to which Feldheim belongs, emphasizes not only the importance of Feldheim’s educational work but also its role model function: "Everything that happens in Feldheim is closely coordinated with all stakeholders. And it pays off. Feldheim is a true community project."

This close cooperation between citizens, the city of Treuenbrietzen, and Energiequelle, supported by funding from the state and the EU, laid the foundation for a model project that now has international appeal.

And the development continues. Many of the wind turbines are due for repowering in the coming years. Plans are also in place for a hybrid park and further development of Feldheim as a visitor center.

Octopus Energy’s generation arm and leading German renewables developer Energiequelle have teamed up to launch OQTO-X – a new joint venture aimed at cutting energy costs and emissions for businesses across Europe.

OQTO-X will support commercial and industrial businesses (C&I) across Germany, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic by planning and installing solar panels and large-scale batteries, overseeing financing, and helping them efficiently manage the generated energy.

The business aims to invest €200 million (£173m) by 2030 through Octopus’s landmark‘ Sky fund (ORI SCsp), helping to slash industrial carbon emissions and energy costs.

Germany, home to energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals, metals, and steel, ranks among Europe’s top industrial greenhouse gas emitters – with industry accounting for roughly 24% of the country’s total emissions in 2024*.

With over 1.7 GW of clean energy projects across the globe, Energiequelle is one of Germany’s driving forces in the renewables sector.

This marks Octopus Energy’s 10th investment in German renewables in three years, and a major step toward its target of channelling €1 billion into the country’s Energiewende. It now manages over 3.3 GW of solar and wind projects across Germany.

OQTO-X is Octopus’s latest investment in the European C&I sector, building on successful energy deals in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Germany is Octopus’s second-biggest market after the UK. The company recently reached a major milestone, powering 1 million German homes – the first country outside the UK where Octopus has achieved this feat.

Last month, the global energy and tech business announced it is launching Octopus Electric Vehicles, the UK’s largest EV-only leasing business, in Germany early next year.

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO von Octopus Energy Generation, said: “We're working relentlessly to drive the global energy revolution and make energy better for people and businesses.

We're hugely excited to partner with Energiequelle to bring even more clean energy to Germany, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic – home to some of Europe’s largest industrial centres – and help decarbonise industry in the region.”

Michael Raschemann, Managing Director and Founder at Energiequelle, said: “We see clear benefits in directly supplying companies with locally generated green electricity, making it a forward-looking business area for our company. Our goal is to provide energy from our plants in a way that’s demand-oriented, reliable, and cost-effective."

Construction work has begun on Energiequelle GmbH’s repowering project at the Minden-Hahlen wind farm in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Three new Nordex N149 wind turbines, each with a total height of nearly 200 meters and a combined capacity of 17.1 megawatts, will replace five older turbines of the types NEG Micon NM 60/1000 and Enercon E-40.

With a rotor diameter of 149 meters and state-of-the-art technology, the new turbines will generate approximately 40,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. This represents an increase of around 600 percent compared to the output of the original wind farm.
“The repowering in Minden is a strategic step toward securing the future. With fewer turbines, we generate significantly more power, ensuring maximum land-use efficiency,” says Jan Schrobsdorff, Project Manager at Energiequelle GmbH. In the future, around 9,500 four-person households will be supplied with sustainably produced electricity from the wind farm.

The project was planned in close coordination with the city of Minden and the relevant authorities. Approval was granted under the Federal Immission Control Act in December 2024. All three turbines are scheduled to be commissioned by the end of October 2026.

A new wind farm by Energiequelle GmbH is being built in Thuringia (Germany). In Sömmerda, located 20 km from Erfurt, construction will begin in September on four Enercon E-160 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5.56 MW and a total height of 246.6 meters. The turbines are situated in priority area W-18, which has been designated in the draft of the “Wind Energy” regional development plan for Central Thuringia.

After more than ten years of intensive project development, this marks an important step toward implementing the energy transition in the region. With a total capacity of over 22 megawatts, the wind farm will be able to supply around 10,500 households with renewable electricity and save approximately 27,000 tons of CO₂ annually.

The permit application was submitted to the responsible authority in December 2022. Following a thorough review, approval was granted in March 2024. Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2025, with foundation work planned for May 2026. The first wind turbine is expected to be commissioned in October 2026.

“The start of construction marks an important milestone for us and the region. The energy transition is becoming tangible here, and we’re excited to finally get started after such a long planning period,” said Jürgen Fuß, Project Developer at Energiequelle.

The Sömmerda wind farm makes a significant contribution to climate-friendly electricity generation and actively supports sustainable development in the region.

Energiequelle is planning several additional wind farms in Thuringia. Three permits totaling 66 MW have already been granted, and another 150 MW are currently in the pipeline.

Energiequelle GmbH, together with the citizens’ energy cooperatives “Saale-Holzland”, “Ilmtal” and “Jena” has been honored by the Thuringian Energy and GreenTech Agency (ThEGA). The award acknowledges the collaborative planning of the Großschwabhausen wind farm in the Weimarer Land region of Thuringia. A total of six Enercon E-160 wind turbines are planned, each with a hub height of 166.6 meters and a combined capacity of 33.36 MW. The close cooperation between Energiequelle and the participating cooperatives enables up to three of the six turbines to be transferred into citizen ownership, allowing local residents to directly benefit from the revenues generated by wind power.

Ramona Rothe, Head of the Wind Service Center at ThEGA, describes the project as a model for successful citizen involvement and regional value creation. Stefan Siegmund, Head of Project Management at Energiequelle’s Thuringian office, confirms: “The cooperation with the cooperatives is a forward-looking model that strengthens acceptance and participation.” Further projects with citizen energy stakeholders are already being planned in northern Thuringia.

Implementation in Two Construction Phases
Approval for the first construction phase, involving two turbines in the Kleinschwabhausen district, was granted in early July. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2027, with commissioning planned for May 2028. The second phase, comprising four additional turbines, is expected to receive approval in early 2026, with commissioning set for October 2028.

With the Großschwabhausen wind farm, Energiequelle is sending a clear signal for a decentralized and citizen-oriented energy transition in Thuringia.