BEDBURG, Germany, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- German energy company RWE said Tuesday it started construction on the second phase of a wind farm located at the site of a reclaimed opencast mine.
"With the commencement of construction of nine further wind turbines the wind park will, once fully commissioned, be capable of supplying 58,000 households with climate-friendly electricity each year," Hans Bunting, managing director of the company, said in a statement.
The twelve wind turbines that make up phase one of the Konigshovener Hohe project should be completed by the end of the year, with phase two developments scheduled for service by the end of 2015.
Germany aims to have the bulk of its energy supplied through renewable resources by 2050. Combined, the wind farm will have a peak capacity of 67 megawatts.
The wind farm is situated on the Garzweiler opencast mine, a reclaimed coal mine of RWE's located near the western German town of Bedburg, which has a 49 percent stake in the project.
RWE said the wind farm was deemed economically viable under the terms of the German Renewable Energy Act of 2000, which helps encourage the development of renewable energy resources for the German grid.
The project represents a $137 million investment for the German energy company.
