20.03.2024
As a manufacturer of specialty paper, Koehler Group is involved in an energy-intensive industry and is keenly aware of its responsibility towards the environment and the climate. With this in mind, the company has been investing in renewable energy generation for over twenty years, setting up a sec-ond division of the business, Koehler Renewable Energy, over a decade ago to focus on this area. With the “2030 Koehler Promise”, Koehler Group sets itself the goal of generating more energy from renewable sources with its own facilities than it consumes producing paper by 2030 at the latest.
Power Purchase Agreement for Wetzlar Wind Farm
Several wind farms are currently being constructed, which will also be operated by Koehler after commissioning. After over 10 years of planning and project planning, the company’s first two wind turbines in Germany, with a combined output of 8.4 MW, were completed in February 2024 in the Wetzlar-Blasbach wind farm in Middle Hesse. In order to use these two wind turbines directly for paper production, the Koehler Group decided to sign a PPA, or Power Purchase Agreement. “Energy is one of the most important tools for business success these days,” underlines Cornelius Schulthess, Corporate Director Energy Supply Management at Koehler Renewable Energy and energy industry expert. He goes on to explain: “Companies have various options for improving their carbon footprint, starting from energy efficiency projects through to generating their own renewable energy and associated PPAs. This enables us as a company to gain further independence from the prices on the energy market.” For Koehler, practically speaking, this means that the energy produced in the Wetzlar wind farm is fed into the grid via a service provider and can be directly purchased by the Koehler Group’s German production sites.
