UKA To Build 120 MW Wind Farm For Mercedes-Benz

Global automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced plans for installing a wind energy farm of over 120 MW at its test track in Papenburg, Northern Germany. It has also awarded a long-term contract worth hundreds of millions to German energy park developer UKA (Umweltgerechte Kraftanlagen GmbH & Co. KG) under which UKA will erect about 20 wind turbines by 2025.

The wind farm of more than 120 MW will be operational on the site as part of a PPA sufficient to cover around 20 percent of the annual electricity requirements of Mercedes-Benz Group AG in Germany. The installation of solar PV systems on the test track is also being examined.

The approval process for the wind farm is to start before the end of this year. Construction of the wind turbines could begin as early as 2024, and the wind farm could become operational in 2026.

“Mercedes-Benz is proud to be making an important contribution to the expansion of wind energy in Germany with the new wind farm in Papenburg. By 2039, we intend to cover the energy needs of our global production network entirely with renewable energies, and therefore without CO₂ emissions. We are systematically gearing our locations up for this,” said, Jörg Burzer, from Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

Gernot Gauglitz, MD, UKA, mentioned, “We at UKA are very pleased that a tender was decided in our favour and are proud to be able to implement this project together with Mercedes-Benz. We all benefit from affordable, clean electricity produced independently in Germany.”

Mercedes-Benz said that about 800-hectare Papenburg test track is to be utilised. The planning for the implementation of the wind farm project by UKA and the ecologically sustainable use of the area is being carried out in close collaboration with the relevant local authorities and local stakeholders.

The goal of Mercedes-Benz is to at least halve CO₂ emissions per passenger car over the entire lifecycle by the end of this decade, compared to 2020. The aim for all Mercedes-Benz production plants worldwide is to operate wholly with renewable energies and no CO₂ emissions by 2039.