As president and CEO of BayWa r.e. Wind LLC, Florian Zerhusen and his San Diego-based firm have assembled a sizable portfolio of wind farms. At age 25, he convinced Germany’s renowned WKN AG to establish a U.S. subsidiary. He developed his first project within three years and raised $100 million from an Italian utility company, Enel, to complete a Texas wind energy project. Known as Snyder Wind Farm, it still is the only wind farm in the United States that has a hub height of 105 meters. Enel acquired the project in 2006.
In 2011, after 10 years of growth, Zerhusen was able to orchestrate a buyout to BayWa AG, a $13 billion German conglomerate. BayWa r.e. Wind LLC is a turnkey developer and operator of renewable energy projects in North America. A fully integrated and committed member of the BayWa renewable energy group, its sole shareholder is BayWa r.e. Renewable Energy GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Germany’s BayWa AG.
BayWa r.e. Wind LLC's business model is to develop, construct, own and operate renewable energy projects. It seeks to complete the lifecycle by either divesting of or partnering on the operating assets. The company is actively seeking new projects in the renewable energy fields of wind and solar.
One of BayWa’s recent projects that is located near Rotan, Texas – approximately 60 miles northwest of Abilene, Texas – is named Project Mozart. The 30 MW wind farm consists of 12 Nordex wind turbine generators – with hub heights of 80 meters and a generating capacity of 2.5 megawatts each – that are distributed over approximately 4,000 acres. Project Mozart reportedly produces enough electricity to power 12,000 average American homes and offset more than 108 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Engineering, procurement and construction of Project Mozart was performed by Signal Energy LLC. Its work on the Mozart Project included the full design and engineering of the project roads, underground and overhead electrical systems, 69 KV substation, wind turbine foundations and all civil infrastructure. Signal Energy also worked with BayWa on Project Snyder, which also is located in Texas, as well as its Project Brahms in New Mexico, which went online on Feb. 7, 2014.
Many of BayWa’s U.S. projects are named after classical music composers. For example, Project Wagner was commissioned in December 2012 to generate 6 MW of electricity from two wind turbines with hub heights of 80 meters and rotor diameters of 90 meters located in Palm Springs, Calif.
Commissioning of Project Brahms, which was acquired in July 2013, occurred only four months after the start of construction in October 2013.
Wind Energy Outlook
Zerhusen is enthused about the evolution of wind energy technology and its potential for the future. “Over the past decade, we have seen a tremendous amount of progress in technology and market growth,” he says. “I believe we are only at the beginning of where this industry can go. The key is to build quality projects that generate attractive returns, which in turn will attract more capital that is currently sitting on the sidelines.
“There are multiple areas or angles from which to really improve the lifetime and efficiency and increase the longevity of the equipment,” Zerhusen continues. He sees federal tax credits as necessary for the success of the industry. “Like any other industry as well, the tax credits available for the renewable industry are vital for its existence and growth potential,” Zerhusen explains. He credits the success of the company to the strong backing of its parent company, BayWa, coupled with entrepreneurial ability to execute on its business plan.
