German developer Moveon Energy has reached an agreement to sell a 650MW solar project near Leipzig to investor Signal Iduna and its financial subsidiary Hansainvest Real Assets.
The project, on Lake Hainer, which is near Leipzig, will be Europe’s largest solar park when built.
The project is still subject to formal approval.
Project developer and general contractor Moveon Energy plans to install a total of more than 1.1 million solar modules with a total capacity of 650MW by the second quarter of 2023 and to operate 45MW of the plant in its own portfolio.
Moveon Energy will take over the operational management of the solar park.
A ground-breaking ceremony which will include Saxony’s prime minister and the mayor of Neukieritzsch Hellriegel will take place at the construction site on 8 June 2022.
The Witznitz Energy Park will extend about 30 km south of Leipzig via the municipality of Neukieritzsch and the cities of Böhlen and Rötha.
In the former Witznitz 2 lignite opencast mine, around 500 hectares of contiguous areas and 150 hectares of additional compensation areas will be used for the project.
The creation of new cycle and bridle paths of 13 km each and associated resting places is intended to support the tourist use of the region.
Hedges will be planted along the fences in order to make the area as close to nature as possible.
In addition to the expected positive economic, ecological and tourist impulses for the region, parallel agricultural use on the area below the solar module tables will also be trialled, using a test area of five to 10 hectares initially for this purpose.
Due to the proximity to existing energy infrastructure, construction of power lines will not be required.
Coupling of renewable energy production with processes for the production of green hydrogen is also envisaged, which would be used to supply a solid-state storage system for self-consumption.
Fast charging stations for cars and bicycles are also part of the complex.
The solar energy generated will be made available to industrial and other large customers without government support by means of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
“Sustainable management is at the heart of what we do as a group of companies and is firmly anchored in our strategy as a guiding principle.
“Through this impressive project, we are happy to be able to live up to our responsibility for a sustainable future on a large scale.
“A CO2-neutral energy supply and the revival of the entire region associated with the new solar park are exactly the kind of positive impulse that our investments should develop in the best case,” said Ulrich Leitermann, chairman of the management board of Signal Iduna.