Qualitas Energy Starts Wind Farm Repowering in Ingstetten – Baden-Württemberg Lags Behind Expansion Targets

Berlin/Münster – Onshore wind expansion in Baden-Württemberg continues to progress slowly and, despite a slight uptick, remains well behind the state's targets. Investment and project development company Qualitas Energy has now begun construction on a repowering project in the state.

Baden-Württemberg continues to rank among the states with below-average installed wind capacity. According to a current IWR analysis of the German Federal Network Agency's (Bundesnetzagentur) core energy market data register, around 2,250 MW of wind capacity was installed in the state as of the end of June 2026. The state government is targeting around 12 GW of installed capacity by 2040. Industry associations attribute the shortfall partly to structural factors, noting that Germany's nationwide auction system for onshore wind disadvantages sites with lower wind yields in the south.

Six New Enercon Turbines Replace Older Wind Farm in Ingstetten

Qualitas Energy has begun construction at the Ingstetten wind farm in the Alb-Donau district, around 35 kilometers southwest of Ulm. The company is fully decommissioning five existing NEG Micon NM 48 turbines and replacing them with six Enercon E-175 EP5 E2 turbines, each with 7 MW of rated capacity. The wind farm's total capacity will rise to 42 MW, equivalent to around 7 percent of the roughly 600 MW needed annually to meet the state's targets, according to the Erneuerbare Energien Baden-Württemberg platform (PEE BW). The symbolic groundbreaking on July 29 was attended by state parliament member Michael Joukov, Ingstetten Mayor Dieter Schmucker, and representatives of the Alb-Donau district administration. According to Qualitas Energy, commissioning of all six turbines is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, after which the wind farm is expected to supply electricity to around 28,000 households. "The start of construction at Ingstetten marks another important milestone for our wind energy platform in Germany," said Johannes Overbeck, CEO of Qualitas Energy Deutschland.

From Joint Project to Sole Developer: EnBW Sells Permit and Project Rights to Qualitas Energy

Ingstetten was originally a joint project between EnBW Windkraftprojekte GmbH and Qualitas Energy, with EnBW planning two of the six turbines and Qualitas Energy the remainder. Both companies received their emissions control permits simultaneously in June 2025. After the joint planning and permitting phase concluded, EnBW sold its permit and additional project rights to Qualitas Energy, which has since developed the wind farm on its own. Qualitas Energy received the Bundesnetzagentur auction awards required for construction of the first three turbines in August 2025, as part of a 43 MW award package that also included a repowering project in Sassenberg-Gröblingen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Efficiency Gains from Modern Turbine Technology

"By replacing older turbines with modern and higher-capacity technology, this repowering project will significantly improve the site’s efficiency," said Christopher Koller, project manager at Qualitas Energy for the Ingstetten wind farm. According to Koller, this allows for better use of the site's existing wind resources. According to manufacturer Enercon, the E-175 EP5 E2 model deployed at the site is the most powerful series-production turbine in its portfolio for locations with low to medium wind conditions, and has been available since 2026.

Political Debate over Southern Quota

With 168.7 MW of newly installed wind capacity in the first half of 2026, Baden-Württemberg ranked only fifth among Germany's territorial states, according to the current IWR analysis — evidence of the continuing shortfall that is fueling an ongoing energy policy debate over adjustments to auction conditions in favor of lower-wind sites. According to PEE BW, the state also received only 184 MW in auction awards over the past twelve months. The state governments of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have therefore jointly petitioned the Bundesrat to raise the nationwide annual auction volume from 10,000 MW to 14,000 MW and to introduce a dedicated award segment for southern Germany of at least 20 percent of the volume. PEE BW Managing Director Jürgen Scheurer is specifically calling for an additional 10,000 MW of auction volume to be made available exclusively for southern Germany in the coming years. Baden-Württemberg's Environment Minister Thekla Walker backed the call for a southern bonus: "We need wind energy in the south too, both for our climate targets and to supply our industrial centers with affordable, domestically produced energy," said the Green Party politician.

Source: IWR Online, 04 Aug 2026