European Energy has started construction of a solar farm project in Sweden, which will form part of a hybrid renewable energy park.
The hybrid park is in Skaramala in the municipality of Tingsryd, where the existing wind farm will be supplemented by a solar farm.
The goal is to have the solar farm completed in 2024 and the entire facility producing electricity for the grid by the end of the year.
By co-locating the plants, the land is used more optimally, and the electricity can be fed out via the same grid connection.
“Even though there are large areas of land in Sweden, we need to optimise the use of space to meet different public interests.
“Here we have found a way to construct a hybrid plant in forest land with low natural values already utilised for wind power,” said Peter Braun, country manager in Sweden at European Energy.
In total, the hybrid plant will be able to produce 163 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green electricity per year, with 38GWh coming from the solar park and the rest from wind power.
“The combination of solar and wind means that we will have an increased production and a more balanced output.
“Wind and solar complement each other well because they have different production times during the day and throughout the year”, said Braun.
The solar park occupies an area of 49 hectares and land preparation has been ongoing for a few months.
The forest has been felled and rocks have been buried in a deeper layer of soil.
“We used soil that was already on site to level the ground so that the solar panels could be installed on an even surface. In this way, we have not added or removed any soil, thus avoiding transport.
“As far as possible, we use local subcontractors for the groundwork,” said Braun.
European Energy also plans to undertake a series of actions to increase biodiversity. Exactly what not yet been decided, but proposals include a pond designed to favour amphibians such as frogs, extensive planting of berry and flowering shrubs, and sowing various meadow seeds.
There are also plans to install stone cairns, leave dead wood, build insect hotels, sand habitats and erect birdhouses.
There is also a discussion about having grazing sheep in the park.
The next step in the project is to start installing the panels in the spring.