- Bonnhof-West solar plant to have a capacity of around 6 MW
- Launch of commercial operations scheduled for autumn 2020
- Green electricity generated to be supplied to RWE Supply & Trading under a
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
Kolitzheim (Germany) – BELECTRIC is currently building a solar plant in Bonnhof, Bavaria, about 30 kilometres south-west of Nuremberg on behalf of Neckar-Elektrizitätsverband (NEV). The key feature is that this solar plant, with a capacity of 5.8 MW, will not be subsidised under the German Renewable Energy Act. The reason for this is a long-term supply agreement for the electricity generated, known as a power purchase agreement (PPA). The supply agreement was concluded with RWE Supply & Trading GmbH.
“For operators of new and existing renewable energy plants, PPAs offer the advantage of not having to participate in bidding processes for subsidised tariffs. This allows for more flexibility in terms of location, and new projects are executed more quickly, such as here in Bonnhof,” says Dr Hendrik Niebaum, who is responsible for the industrial customer and municipal utility business at RWE Supply & Trading. “We create customised PPA solutions for our industrial and municipal utility customers and assist them in achieving their climate targets.”
NEV Managing Director Mario Dürr: “By investing in this solar energy project, NEV is creating an environmentally friendly energy supply that does not rely on any government subsidies whatsoever. Once the project has been completed by BELECTRIC, 14,350 individual solar panels will generate electricity from sunlight. We are looking forward to our Bonnhof-West solar plant commencing commercial operations this autumn and to supplying the first green electricity.”
BELECTRIC was selected as the service provider for the operation and maintenance of the solar plant. The company will not only be responsible for operating the plant, it will also take over the feed-in management for NEV as a service provider – a central element of supplying electricity to RWE Supply & Trading.
Martin Zembsch, Managing Director of BELECTRIC Solar & Battery GmbH: “As one of the world’s leading general contractors for open-air photovoltaic systems, we are pleased to be able to support our customers in the construction and operation of solar plants, as well as in the marketing of electricity. Here in Bonnhof, together with NEV and RWE Supply & Trading we are demonstrating that solar energy can also be competitive in Germany.”
In 2019, BELECTRIC carried out a solar energy project for NEV and its municipal partner, Stadtwerke Esslingen. This photovoltaic system in Speichersdorf, Bavaria, has been in operation since June 2020 and has a capacity of 9.24 MW. BELECTRIC has built more than 400 open-air turnkey solar plants around the world with over 3 GWp in photovoltaic capacity. It has also built battery storage units and hybrid systems that combine various technological components to create autonomous systems.
