UKA has begun the new year with a full portfolio of projects

Company announcement

UKA Looks Forward to a Well-Filled Project Pipeline in 2023

With a pipeline of 14 gigawatts in the wind onshore sector, UKA is looking forward to multiple projects 2023 in Germany as well as internationally. Two new Managing Directors also strengthen the acquisition campaign of the group.

UKA has begun the new year with a full portfolio of projects. The company develops wind and solar parks and is currently awaiting approval on approximately 1.8 gigawatts of onshore wind projects in its German home market. This is more than ever before in the history of the company. UKA has now established itself as one of the top 3 onshore wind park developers in Germany. It was evident from the number of contracts awarded to the UKA Group over the last three years that it would reach this position. Contracts from 2020 to 2022 amount to around 465 megawatts. Of these, 133 are from tenders in 2022.

As Ralf Breuer, who took on responsibility this year for the German project development business as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, explains, "Our projects under construction and awaiting approval serve to secure our business today. The project pipeline is our future. So we're very pleased that our business acquisition campaign last year was extremely successful. Word has spread among landowners that UKA is a strong performer and a fair partner." A further pillar of success is UKA's regional strategy. The company has significantly expanded its local presence and customer proximity and now maintains four main sites in northern, western, central and southeastern Germany, as well as ten additional local branches and offices. This allows UKA to intensify its local cooperation with municipal utility operators, industrial companies, communities, farms and agribusinesses.

Stefan Kath moved up to join the UKA executive team on January 1, 2023, and is responsible for business operations as Chief Operations Officer. He points out that UKA's investments are a major contributing factor in the company's project volume. "We cooperate very effectively with local partners, who are also part of our regional strategy. In 2023, we want to intensify this collaboration even further." All sides benefit equally from these partnerships. UKA benefits from the local partner networks, while in turn the partners can access the purchasing power for equipment and infrastructure as well as the specialist departments of the industrial developer. "We have in-house experts in almost every specialty field, from endangered species and environmental protection to plant engineering, grid planning, high-voltage grid connections, aviation & radar and much more," says Kath. The UKA group of companies has the additional advantage of an "excellent credit rating" as confirmed by Creditreform, a business information and credit management provider.

UKA is not only growing in its home market in Germany but also expanding its business abroad. In the 4th quarter of 2022, it added a branch in Szczecin, Poland, to its international subsidiaries in the key markets of the US, Chile and the Iberian Peninsula. UKA decided to enter the Polish market because it sees great potential for expanding wind energy and solar power there. Poland has once again become an interesting market for onshore wind energy development as it’s about to relax distance requirements for wind turbines.