During a visit to the wpd’s wind farm Achim-Bollen in Bremen, Energy Insight journalists could witness the rapid advancement of wind turbine technology. Achim-Bollen wind farm consists of 3 wind turbines of Vestas V150-, with a total capacity of 12.65 MW. It was commissioned in 2021 at Lower Saxony, Germany. Notably, wind turbines are not solely produced in one location; it is common to manufacture various parts such as blades and main towers in various locations. Chinese manufacturers are notably gaining prominence in this industry. Mr. Hans-Christoph Brumberg, Managing Director of wpd Asia Solutions GmbH, highlighted, while larger turbines may pose challenges in urban settings due to their heightened noise levels, they prove optimal for the Mongolian steppe. wpd, an independent producer of renewable energy projects spanning Germany, Europe, Asia, and the North and South Americas, and with the headquarter in Bremen / Germany is actively engaged in constructing a wind farm in Mongolia. Discussions concerning the "Khanbogd Wind Farm" project in Umnugovi province, along with the current state of the renewable energy industry in both countries and tariff considerations, were held at the wpd headquarters.

How many countries currently host renewable energy projects and production by wpd?

wpd develops and operates renewable energy projects in 31 countries. Among these, we have installed 2,750 wind turbines with a total capacity of 6,670 MW and have a further 19,320 MW of onshore wind power projects and 5,015 MW of solar power plants under development. Germany serves as our primary market. Our company group consists of three main entities: wpd GmbH is a developer and independent renewable energy producer (IPP) with 1,210 employees, which explores new project opportunities, develops projects from the initial idea to commissioning and later owns the projects. In Asia, our company stands as the foremost leader in Taiwan's renewable energy market with a market share of more than 50% of the installed onshore wind capacity. Overall, we have wind farm projects planned with a cumulative capacity of 1,980 MW across Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. wpd Windmanager has 579 employees, providing commercial and technical management of operating wind farms. In general, wind turbines should produce energy whenever there is wind and therefore should have as high technical availability as possible. To ensure such performance, Deutsche Windtechnik AG is taking care of the maintenance of the wind turbines, with a total of 2,183 employees. As such the company is specialized not only on one turbine brand but can maintain turbines from various manufacturers (OEMs).

Does the company's headquarters oversee energy production worldwide?

Indeed. Our Remote-Control Center operates round the-clock in three shifts. We integrate wind turbines from all over the world and from various manufacturers using the same software to manage our turbine fleet. This system provides comprehensive insights into turbine performance, including continuous operation s tatus, if there is any damage, the prevailing weather conditions, and individual turbine energy production. Moreover, our software is integrated with energy exchange platforms, enabling real-time monitoring of market prices, so that we can control the production of the wind turbines according to the deviations in the market price of the electricity. Hopefully we can soon also integrate and see the Khanbogd Wind Farm on our monitors.

When did the project commence in Mongolia, and what are its distinguishing features?

The special license for the "Khanbogd Wind Farm" project, located in Umnogovi Province, Mongolia was f irst obtained by the Mongolian "Qleantech" company in 2008. Subsequently, in September 2020, wpd entered as a shareholder using its expertise and experience to advance the project. Qleantech LLC holds the energy license, while wpd Mongolia LLC employs our local development team and provides development services to the project. The Khanbogd Wind Farm has a capacity of up to 250 MW and will be built in two phases. The overhead transmission line, which will connect the wind farm to the central energy system of Mongolia will cross three baghs of Khanbogd soum: Nomgon, Javkhlant, and Gaviluud. The first stage, 102 MW capacity of the Khanbogd Wind Farm project will supply to the central energy system of Mongolia, followed by the second s tage, 148 MW of energy is currently planned to be exported to China. For the first phase 24 wind turbines with a hub height of 105 meters will be installed.

What is the current progress of the Khanbogd Wind Farm project?

The Khanbogd project is currently under development and the first phase of development for the project is nearing completion. To proceed with the financing and investment, there are a few political and regulatory challenges to overcome. But with the support of all s takeholders involved we are confident that we can achieve our goal of providing green and clean energy to the Mongolian grid. 

What opportunities will emerge once Khanbogd project is realised?

We believe Khanbogd project will make significant contribution to the sustainable development of the Mongolia’s energy system, especially considering the challenges it faces and country’s growing electricity demand. Successfully realized projects will not only create many local job opportunities, but also attract investors, contributing to further development and unlocking the potential of wind and solar energy into more regional context, even the opportunity to export to China. 

What is your opinion on the tariffs of renewable energy in Mongolia?

As in most industries, to build a sustainable renewable energy industry political support and incentives are necessary. Furthermore, developers and investors look into various aspects, such as technical risk, time required for the development but also more broader aspects such as political stability and country risk when defining their expected or required return on their investment. Therefore, and considering the status the renewable energy industry in Mongolia is now, we do consider the current tariffs to be reasonable.

But we also see the potential for bringing down costs and ultimately tariffs. One thing the industry is working on is bringing down costs through technological development and utilization of advanced technology, for example through using bigger and more efficient turbines in the future. The other thing required is clear and stable political commitment together with ambitious targets for renewable energy, which will create a longterm perspective for the entire supply chain for the investments into Mongolia and ultimately improve the cost structure. If these factors are considered I am also optimistic that reductions of tariffs for renewable energies can be seen in Mongolia in the future. 

What is your perspective on Mongolia's investment environment, particularly in the renewable energy sector?

Looking into the available resources of wind and solar to produce renewable energy in Mongolia, there is huge potential. We also see the interest from international lenders to support the renewable energy growth in Mongolia when we are talking to them regarding our Khanbogd project. Therefore, one could wonder why there are not more parties active. As mentioned before, developing and realizing a huge project like the Khanbogd project normally requires several years of development. Therefore, clear support and stable policy as well as a clear pipeline and the commitment of the government are very important. Also, investment security is important, meaning that once you are following all relevant procedures and requirements one should also be certain that a project can move forward. Considering that we currently only see very few developers active in Mongolia, maybe others, in particular international investors, are not seeing all these requirements fulfilled. 

Can you share with us your position on Mongolia making energy transition?

From my perspective energy transition does not necessarily mean only one technology will provide the required resource and the change needs to come from today to tomorrow. I think Mongolia did great more than a decade ago with initiating this transition process with the first wind and solar projects being build. And while I do believe that coal will still play a certain role for the Mongolian energy system for the next decade or so, considering the current complete standstill for the build out of renewable energy in Mongolia, it seems the transition process somehow has stopped and Mongolia is not utilizing the big potential renewable energy could bring to the country, not to say the environment. 

Germany is focusing on developing its energy sector and becoming energy independent, especially after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What is the level of government involvement in the German energy sector?

 While Germany was relying heavily on Russia for its gas imports, gas was also only considered as a so called bridge technology. And while Germany has shut down its nuclear power plants and decided to abandon the use of coal as primary energy source, renewable energies, like solar and wind (onshore and offshore) are currently being seen as one of the keys to not only fully execute the transition to a more environmental friendly and sustainable energy system, but also become more independent from imports.

This general strategy has been formulated already many years ago and is supported by most of the political parties through clear support schemes and incentives, longterm planning and commitment. Based on the current geopolitical changes, the current government is only accelerating the process.

How are tariffs handled in Germany?

As mentioned before support schemes are very important in order to build up and let an industry develop. Therefore Germany was one of the first countries to implement and sustain a FiT-scheme (Feed in Tarif), which helped to build the industry. Once the industry was established, Germany shifted towards a more competitive system incl. auctions, which now has also lead to reduced tarifs. But one should note this is a development, which was heavily supported through clear built out targets and stable policy.

One side note, which could be also interesting for Mongolia is the possibility in Germany for Corporate Power Purchase Agreements, meaning bilateral agreements between the power producer and a big consumer, such as manufacturing plants. 

Thank you for the interview.