ESSEN, Germany, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- German energy company RWE Innogy announced it commissioned its Titz wind farm in a lignite mining district in western Germany.
"We are thrilled to see our turbine blades turning at Titz," RWE Innogy Chief Executive Officer Hans Bunting said in a statement. "Our beacon project in the expansion of renewables in the Rhenish mining area is now contributing power to the grid."
The wind farm is designed to generate more than 20 megawatts of electricity. Local officials said there's more wind energy generated in the area than businesses and households consume.
Lignite mining in the region covers an area of about 960 square miles along the western border of Germany. A subsidiary of RWE operates four mines in the area.
Germany gets more than 20 percent of its electricity from lignite power plants.
The wind farm is on 90 hectares of land. The Germany company said the wind farm should offset around 42,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.
