RWE has begun the construction of a ground-mounted solar and storage project on the site of an opencast lignite mine in Germany.
The 14.4MW project, RWE Indeland Solarpark, is scheduled to go into operation at the end of the summer and is the first of its kind in Europe, RWE said.
The plant bears the name of the region around the Inden opencast mine in the district of Duren, in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In seven years, coal production will cease at the site, leaving behind an extensive lake.
The solar modules will be built in two 1.4 km-long strips, about 100 metres wide, on a gravel surface in the western edge of the opencast mine, Inden.
After its expiry at the end of 2029, the area will be a lake embankment and lakeshore.
It takes two decades for the first waves to hit the shore, enough time to use the site for a large solar park with battery storage in the meantime.
RWE’s proposal to the Federal Network Agency, as part of an innovation tender, was awarded the contract last year.
The electricity storage system is designed for a two-hour power consumption acting as a buffer between power generation and the grid.
Katja Wunschel, CEO for onshore wind and solar, for Europe and Australia, RWE Renewables, said: “We are investing €11m in our new project at the Inden opencast mine.
“The RWE Indeland solar park will thus become the next building block of climate-friendly and import-independent electricity production.”
By 2030, RWE wants to build at least 500MW of renewables capacity in the Rhenish lignite mining area alone.
Wunschel added: “We are making North Rhine-Westphalia a focal point of our innovation and growth strategy. Here we want to realize every wind and solar project that is possible and thus help shape the enormous transformation, especially in the Rhenish coalfield.”
RWE already operates the Indeland wind farms Eschweiler and Fronhoven A, close to the new solar storage project.