25 of Germany’s top renewable energy influencers in 2023

Germany has been stepping up its renewable efforts in recent years, particularly when it comes to solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. The country overtook Spain as the leading solar market in Europe this year and now has over 3 million PV systems in operation.

This blog will look at some top influencers driving the German renewables revolution and leading the conversation around green energy. Let's jump in!

Ulrike Jahn

Ulrike’s work focuses on the quality assessment of solar PV projects at VDE Renewables, operating as project manager for over 150 experts in the field. She also works on Task 13 of the PVPS program run by the IEA and is a member of the European Technology & Innovation Platform PV steering committee.

Stefan Müller

Leveraging his experience working as the MD for the APAC region at the Conergy Group, Stefan co-founded Enerparc AG, a worldwide company with over 600 projects across 25 countries. As a shareholder and board member, he is responsible for helping to push the company forward and adding to its already impressive global portfolio of solar projects.

Markus Haastert 

Markus has a strong background in renewable technologies, previously as a Partner of BE Solutions & Blue Systems Design GmbH and now as CEO of AgroSolar Europe, an agrivoltaics company. Markus has also been President of ZERAP Germany e.V for almost 17 years now, a project run by the EU to help promote green energy, identify sustainable economic opportunities, and educate and support school children and adults in the community. 

Patrick Knopp

Patrick has spent his whole renewables career working at AboWind, starting as an intern and making his way to Team Manager of Solar Design. During his time at university, he was also a member of the Student Assembly at iC-Haus GmbH, a leading name in integrated circuits and semiconductor solutions. 

Nico Müller

Nico has over 20 years of experience in the renewable sector and has a background in banking. As Head of Acquisition and Planning for Germany at ib vogt, he is focused on the development of solar park power plants in Germany in line with current German FIT and PPAs.

Matthias Giller

As CEO of Energy Partners GmbH, Matthias is responsible for planning and executing the company’s long-term vision and goals in the commercial and industrial solar rooftop sector. He splits his time between this role and working as Head of Sales at MaxSolar, where he leads sales and assists in strategic and operational planning for the company’s expansion in the renewable energy sector.

Johannes Linder 

BELECTRIC Holding is one of the leading O&M suppliers in the solar space and has installed more than 490 PV systems, with a total output of over 4.6 GW. As the Head of System Design & Innovation, Johannes’ work is crucial for driving new technologies and innovating in the solar sector.

Markus Reinhardt 

Markus has a background in digitalization and is focused on helping energy suppliers make their offerings more attractive to customers while driving the green energy transition forward. As Managing Director of Vattenfall Next Energy, he is responsible for steering the ship and driving the company in exciting new directions.

Jörg Lennertz

Jörg is a corporate M&A expert, having successfully negotiated over 30 transactions as Head of M&A at Uniper in all areas of the energy sector. He is CEO of Uniper, helping develop and realize onshore wind and solar projects across Europe with multi-GW capacity.

Claudia Luft

Claudia has a substantial following on LinkedIn as a renewable energy influencer, alongside operating as CEO of C2sun GmbH. She is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the industry, specializes in solar, wind, and energy-efficient products, and holds multiple volunteer positions.

Deniz Urla

With a robust background in the renewable energy space, Deniz now works as Head of Engineering and Design for Europe at Chint Solar. In this role, he helps to innovate in the solar PV space and push the industry forward.

Susan Zwick 

As a project manager, Susan helps MG Energieprojekte Deutschland to provide carbon-neutral central heating projects to public buildings such as schools and homeowners in the Eurasburg-Nord area.

Stephan Schindele 

As Head of Product Management, Stephan uses his experience in strategic consulting, business development, public affairs, and marketing to deliver exciting new technologies and products in agrivoltaics.

Nadine Haase 

Nadine has over 15 years of experience working on the ground to develop new energy solutions in the industry. She uses her enthusiasm for the green energy transition to drive the sector using wind power solutions as Vice President of Bundesverband WindEnergie.

Dr. Crhistopher Hebling

Prof. Dr. Hebling has multiple scientific publications in the renewable energy space, adding to our understanding of the field and helping to bring the industry into the future. He is the International Director of The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Europe’s largest solar research institute.

Thomas Herold 

Working first as a Product Solutions Manager at Huawei, Thomas now acts as Technical Director of Solar Inverters at Huawei, Germany, helping to push the tech giant’s move into the renewable space. He also recently participated in a webinar in collaboration with pv magazine.

Julia Wolters 

As one of the most trusted voices in the industry, PV magazine has a long history of delivering quality news, insights, and thought leadership content to those interested in learning more about the renewable energy space. As Head of Sales for EMEA, Julia is responsible for expanding the magazine’s reach and delivering first-class content to a broader audience.

Amelie Wippern 

Amelie has been working at Stadtwerke Heidelberg Energie GmbH for a number of years now and has risen to the position of Group Leader for Photovoltaic and Electromobility. Her work helps expand the company’s renewable and e-mobility offerings, taking it in all new directions.

Diego Lobo-Guerrero

Diego is responsible for the engineering and construction of renewable energy utility-scale projects with a special focus in PV-parks with integrated Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). He is responsible for coordinating complex processes across a multitude of cultural environments.

Hugo Navarro Kilian

With ten years of experience in the renewable sector, Hugo uses his expertise to help design utility-scale PV projects and assess energy yield and efficiency. He has a strong background in the industry and recently took on the Head of Engineering PV role at PNE AG.

Volker Quaschning 

Volker uses his substantial platform and extensive knowledge and experience in the renewable energy space to help educate people about the effects of climate change and how we can tackle this impending crisis. He has a YouTube channel, podcast, and lecture series that he uses alongside written content to share ideas and contribute to the conversation.

Thore Müller

Thore has over five years of experience optimizing utility-scale PV power plants and used this experience to co-found Virtuous-Re. His work with Virtuous-Re is focused on developing PVRADAR, a toolbox to automate and improve the design and performance of PV systems.

Benedikt Ortmann

Dr. Ortmann has worked in the solar industry for over 20 years and uses his experience to help drive the renewable energy transition worldwide at BayWa r.e. He is passionate about addressing the imminent threat of climate change and finds himself on the majority of PV projects for BayWa r.e. tackling these issues with his team of colleagues.

Joachim Rupp

Joachim is an advocate for the green energy transition and has a strong background in solar, energy storage, EV charging, heating & cooling, energy management, and related Systems Integration. He is now CEO of Detra Solar and responsible for business organization and development.

Doreen Rietentiet

Doreen co-founded one of Europe’s first climate tech boutique consultancies in DWR eco, helping green energy and climate technology businesses of all sizes to refine and optimize their strategy and communications. She is also a podcast host and speaker, using her background as a journalist to communicate with the public and experts about the climate tech space and renewable energy.