The use of renewable energy is an incredibly important step forward for our environment in that it significantly reduces the amount of CO₂ escaping into the atmosphere. Our ability to exploit renewable energies also makes us less dependent on the world’s crisis regions, from where we still source a significant portion of the fossil fuels we use. Policymakers are encouraging the switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy with a range of incentives, including subsidies and doing so successfully: more than 30% of Germany’s gross electricity consumption was already being produced from renewable energy sources in 2015. Even in the transportation and heating sectors, the figure was 13.2%, with a rising tendency visible throughout the economy.

Electricity is generated to a significant extent from wind power. Having been quick to spot the opportunities inherent in renewable energy, we launched our first wind power fund back in 2001. The fund’s asset is the Altmark wind farm, located some 80 km west of Berlin. The 20 wind turbines produce a total output of 30 megawatts, sufficient to power 1,200 households for a year or enough to keep Munich’s famous Oktoberfest – the world’s biggest beer festival – going for three weeks.

The outlook is particularly bright for solar power investors, too. This is another field in which we were among the first movers; our investors can therefore already benefit from our years of market expertise. The Free State of Saxony offers large expanses of open space, unshaded and secured for the long term, where First Solar GmbH has built solar farms with a total output of 46 megawatt peak. The Rote Jahne and Waldpolenz I, II and III solar farms are situated in the direct vicinity of Leipzig and constitute the assets in our solar power funds.

Professionals can now invest in the Solar Wind European Renewable Funds (SWEPP), whose investment assets focus on onshore solar and wind projects in northern and central Europe.