Germany’s Biggest Solar Park at 180 MW Approved by EnBW

German electric utilities company EnBW (Energie Baden-Württemberg), has taken a final investment decision (FID) to build what will be Germany’s biggest solar park when fully constructed. The solar park will have an installed output of more than 180 megawatts (MW).

The company has announced that its supervisory board and board of management have agreed to construct the largest solar park in Germany. EnBW will build its “Weesow-Willmersdorf” solar park on an area covering 164 hectares near to Werneuchen in Brandenburg. The energy generated will be able to supply around 50,000 households in an environmentally friendly way.

“The size of this solar park will give us a powerful boost in the expansion of our renewable energy portfolio. We are accelerating the expansion of solar energy and thus making it our third pillar,” said EnBW Chief Technical Officer Dr. Hans-Josef Zimmer.

The initial cable laying work for the solar park is due to begin in Werneuchen at the beginning of 2020. And the company plans to fully commission the solar park and its around 465,000 solar modules before the end of 2020.

By developing the Weesow-Willmersdorf project, EnBW will demonstrate that solar parks of this magnitude are the first form of renewable technology after hydropower that can be realised without feed-in remuneration from the German Renewable Energies Act (EEG). The company is building a solar park without this funding for the first time. “A more than 80 percent reduction in costs in the photovoltaic sector over the last ten years has made this possible,” it stated.

“We are convinced that major solar parks of this size can be operated economically without funding”, says Zimmer. “But only if the EEG continues to regulate: Renewables first!” The law stipulates that electricity from renewable energies has priority over other methods of generation when fed into the electricity grid. “This and other regulations in the EEG need to be retained so that the investment in renewable energies continues to make economic sense in the future”, added Zimmer.

EnBW acquired the project from Procon Solar GmbH at a pre-developed stage in the middle of 2018 and has since pushed forward the planning and development of the largest solar park project in Germany. “We have developed a project development pipeline in Germany of more than 800 megawatts – including other major projects”, said Thorsten Jörß, head of Project Development for PV at EnBW.

Source: Saurenergy.com