A group of German municipalities are taking over 49% of the shares in the RWE Neuland solar parks, which have been connected to the grid in the Hambach opencast mine in recent months.
The plants RWE Neuland Solarpark and RWE Neuland 1 Solarpark together deliver an electrical output of 47.2MW at their peak.
A battery storage system with a capacity of 8MWh was also installed in order to be able to align the electricity feed-in even better with demand.
Just in time for the founding of the new company, the second expansion stage of the RWE Neuland 1 Solar Park was put into operation, the developer said.
They also have the option of taking over 49% of the shares in all future renewable energy projects in the Hambach opencast mine via Neuland Hambach, the interest group of the municipalities of Elsdorf, Jülich, Kerpen, Merzenich, Niederzier and Titz.
As part of this agreement, RWE and the municipalities have founded the project company RWE Neuland Erneuerbare Energien GmbH & Co. KG with RWE.
Neuland Hambach managing director Boris Linden said: “With the project company, we are continuing our tradition as an energy location and at the same time opening a new chapter.
“The municipalities around the opencast mine benefit from the supply of solar power and the development of their own capacities.
“The investment in renewable energies is also an investment in the future of the new Hambach region.”
Chief executive of RWE Renewables Europe & Australia Katja Wünschel added: “The expansion of renewable energies is progressing well in the Rhenish mining area, in the Hambach opencast mine and beyond.
“The participation of the municipalities and the people who live locally is important to us.
“The cooperation with Neuland Hambach is an excellent example of how the Ruhr region can be taken along in the energy transition.”
A total of 87,000 modules currently generate around 50 million kilowatt hours of solar power annually in the Hambach opencast mine on an area the size of around 60 football pitches.