German renewables developer ABO Energy GmbH & Co. KGaA may alter its business model to become an independent power producer on the back of booming permitting and installations in its home market, the company said Sept. 26.
ABO Energy has held initial discussions with potential investors with a view to selling a stake in the company, helping to provide the financial backing needed to build and operate its own portfolio of onshore wind, solar and battery storage assets, it said in a news release.
Becoming an IPP would allow it to create "tailored" power purchase agreements for large electricity consumers, combining renewables and storage assets into baseload portfolios, the company added.
"The energy markets have evolved significantly over the past two years," Karsten Schlageter, ABO Energy managing director, said in a statement. "The new environment offers players with integrated business models additional opportunities and synergies, including for project development. We want to explore these opportunities and exploit them where appropriate."
ABO Energy's potential shift is driven by a surge in onshore wind permits and tenders in Germany, which has boosted the supply of ready-to-build projects.
Germany has issued 10 GW of new onshore wind permits in 2025 so far, after a record 14 GW last year, according to trade association BWE. That compares to less than 2 GW issued in 2019.
Meanwhile, more than 28 GW of support contracts have been awarded to German onshore wind projects since early 2023, when Berlin lifted the maximum bid price by a quarter to reflect higher project costs.
BWE sees German onshore wind installations reaching up to 5.3 GW this year, their highest level since 2017.
The acceleration has reversed a previous dynamic of undersupply in Germany's wind market that ABO Energy said had "made sense" for it to sell its projects to other investors.
"Demand can now be met much more effectively," the company said. "Under these market conditions, it is becoming increasingly attractive to also operate at least part of the developed and constructed projects."
ABO Energy's development pipeline amounts to around 34 GW — including 10 GW in Germany — with 620 MW in construction and 5.6 GW of assets permitted.
The company said it has the human resources required to build and operate projects but not the capital. Therefore, it will need to partner with investors, with initial discussions indicating that many are only willing to make large commitments if they also obtain corresponding shareholder rights.
As such, the families of the company's two founders, Jochen Ahn and Matthias Bockholt, which each own 26% stakes in ABO Energy, are willing to sell shares if necessary.
In such a case, ABO Energy may decide to revert back to its former legal structure — a stock corporation, known as an aktiengesellschaft (AG) — having only two years ago converted to a partnership limited by shares, or a kommanditgesellschaft auf aktien (KGaA).
The company said it had "anticipated a different development in the energy and capital markets" when it decided to change its legal structure in 2023.
It plans to ramp up discussions around its future operating model in the coming weeks and months.
