BBH group assists in formation of project company for intermunical community-owned wind farm

BBH Becker Büttner Held BBH-Gruppe

One of Bavaria’s largest wind farms will be created in the “Bildhäuser Forst” area situated in the administrative districts of Bad Kissingen and Rhön-Grabfeld. What makes this wind farm unique is that it will largely remain in municipal ownership. The residents as well as local commerce and industry will thus directly benefit from the value added. Over the last one and a half years, the BBH group has been supporting the project, which has now reached an important milestone – the appointment with the notary.

Überlandwerk Rhön GmbH (ÜWR) intends to participate in the project of R3 RegionalEnergie GmbH for the construction of up to 18 wind energy installations jointly with six municipalities: the town of Münnerstadt, the municipalities of Strahlungen and Saal a. d. Saale, the town of Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale as well as the municipalities of Rödelmaier and Wülfershausen a. d. Saale. The project was initiated by R3 RegionalEnergie GmbH, which will remain involved in the future. The fact that 90% of the operating company, with a volume of 180 million euros, will be transferred to municipal ownership is a novelty. This achievement is thanks to the municipal energy supplier ÜWR, which acts as risk capital investor for the municipalities, as well as a participation and financing concept devised by the BBH group that allows the municipalities to take on a project of such scale. BBH has been providing comprehensive support for the project from the development of the fundamental legal structures and framework to the drafting and review of all contracts required in the project development stage. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. 

BBH partner and lawyer Jan-Hendrik vom Wege: “We are pleased to be part of such a major project. The energy transition is also a municipal task. And it is important that the local residents directly benefit from it. The participation model we developed together with all stakeholders makes sure that this is the case.”

Joachim Schärtl and Roland Göpfert, managing directors of Überlandwerk Rhön GmbH, stress: “For a project of this size, a competent partner like BBH is essential for success and legal certainty. Our case also required a project structure that protects the municipalities in terms of company and municipal law and enables them to participate in the first place. Today’s milestone is a huge achievement and largely thanks to the legal support and creativity of the BBH experts involved. Through a single point of contact, many experts contribute their specialist knowledge to ensure the success of our project.”

With more than 700 employees, 7,000 clients and 7 offices, the BBH group is a leading provider of advisory services to energy and infrastructure companies and their customers. Energy and supply companies, particularly public utilities, municipalities and local authorities, industrial companies and international groups are among its core clients. The BBH group assists these and many other companies and organisations with legal, business and strategic advice.

Contact:                                                                       
Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke                                                   
Rechtsanwältin/Lawyer, Partner                                        
Phone +49 (0)30 611 28 40 - 179                                    
ines.zenke@bbh-online.de                                      

Visit the BBH group online at www.die-bbh-gruppe.de, www.bbh-blog.de, twitter.com/BBH_online or instagram.com/die_bbh_gruppe.

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