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.

Energiequelle GmbH has successfully passed the audit for ISO/IEC 27001, which included the transition to the updated standard version ISO/IEC 27001:2022. The result confirms the effectiveness of the Information Security Management System (ISMS) introduced by Energiequelle in 2023, as well as the successful advancement in the field of information security.

The new version of the standard includes, among other things, expanded requirements for risk treatment, stronger integration of cybersecurity aspects, and a modernized structure for security controls.

Energiequelle remains one of the few control centers in Germany to hold this certification. Doreen Jurke-Kerbs, Information Security Officer at Energiequelle, expressed pride in the achievement: “The certification underscores our commitment to information security and our continuous pursuit of the highest standards.” Dirk Rampenthal, Head of Certifications & Services at Energiequelle, also emphasized the importance of the audit: “Security and quality in our operations are essential to providing our customers with the best possible service.”

Energiequelle received the certificate for the successful audit on June 12, 2025. As part of a holistic management system, the company is already preparing for the next step: certification according to ISO 9001, the globally recognized standard for quality management.

As part of the repowering project in Raßlitz, Saxony, Energiequelle has successfully commissioned two Enercon E-160 wind turbines. These new turbines replace the previous E-58 models and feature a hub height of 166.6 meters and a capacity of 5.56 MW each. This upgrade increases the energy output eightfold. The projected annual energy yield of the new turbines is around 40.8 million kilowatt-hours, which is enough to supply more than ten thousand households with green, CO₂-free electricity – a significant step forward for the energy transition in the region.

Long planning phase
The commissioning of the new wind turbines followed a long and challenging planning process. The first planning steps by Energiequelle GmbH began back in 2013 and progressed with the signing of the lease agreements in 2017. It took another seven years before the potential site was designated as a priority and suitable area for wind energy in the regional development plan. With the establishment of planning rights in 2020, Energiequelle was able to submit the permit application under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG), which was approved in autumn 2022. The official declaration of completeness for the application, multiple changes to planning regulations due to Saxon legislation, and growing resistance to wind energy expansion in the state of Saxony were just some of the hurdles that had to be overcome.

A particularly demanding task was the construction of a dedicated substation, as Fabian Musall, Head of Project Management at Energiequelle’s Dresden office, explains: “After successfully participating in the Federal Network Agency’s tender and receiving the maximum award, we were informed that the originally planned substation was no longer available due to increased capacity. We had to quickly mobilize all resources to build our own substation.”

This effort was successful, and since June 20, the energy generated by the wind farm has been reliably fed into the public grid.

The wind farm has been sold to Encavis AG, a leading European renewable energy producer. The company operates a broadly diversified portfolio of onshore wind farms, ground-mounted solar installations, and battery storage systems.

Catherine Failliet has now been Managing Director of Energiequelle France for 100 days. We asked her how she experienced this time and what she hopes for the future.
 

Catherine, how would you summarize your time at Energiequelle?

"It's been an intense start to the year, during which I've discovered a field of work that was previously unfamiliar to me. I've learned an incredible amount – both from my predecessor Robert and from the entire team. What's more, the international orientation of the group allows me to work more closely with Germany again, which brings me great joy."
 

Was there a particular highlight for you during this time?

"I especially enjoyed being involved in the construction of the Fééole citizens' wind farm in Ille-et-Vilaine. The relatively simple and quick implementation stands in stark contrast to the complexity and duration of the procedures required to realize such a project."
 

Do you have a wish for the future in this regard?

"Without clear guidelines, it's difficult to move forward. If we want citizens and municipalities to support renewable energy projects in their regions, we need a clear political commitment."

Energiequelle GmbH has been successful in the Federal Network Agency’s May tender. The company received contracts for both submitted wind farm projects. In Ennigerloh, located in the Warendorf district of North Rhine-Westphalia, one wind turbine with a capacity of 5.56 MW is planned. In the repowering project in Gehlenberg (Cloppenburg district, Lower Saxony), five turbines with a total capacity of 27.8 MW are scheduled.

Ennigerloh is the first project at the still young Energiequelle site in Münster, while the company has been active in Gehlenberg for 25 years. The 13 old E-66 turbines are currently managed by Energiequelle’s operations team. Construction for both projects is scheduled to begin in 2026.

“The permits and contract awards are important milestones – both for our continued growth and for the transition to a sustainable energy supply in Germany,” says Michael Raschemann, Managing Director of Energiequelle GmbH.