The 31 projects – mostly sited in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate – are at various stages of development, with approval for almost one-third expected this year.

The first batch of wind farms from the acquisition should be online in 2017 said BayWa, which will advance the projects via its BayWa r.e. renewable energy unit.

Munich-based BayWa – whose interests span energy, agriculture and building products – has become increasingly active in the renewables sector in Germany and abroad.