Swedish renewable company Vattenfall is venturing further into the field of agrivoltaics with a final investment decision in the 76MW Tützpatz solar park in Germany.
Based in Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania, Tützpatz will combine bifacial modules on different mounting systems, as well as an elevated tracker system.
The farm will be situated on 95 hectares of agricultural land intended for organic free-range eggs.
According to current plans, construction at Tützpatz is scheduled to start in mid-2023.
Claus Wattendrup, head of the solar division at Vattenfall, said in a statement: “The German government’s goal is to expand electricity generation from photovoltaics to 215 gigawatts by 2030, half of which will be installed on open spaces.
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“Agrivoltaics can help to achieve these goals in addition to traditional open-space PV. With the Tützpatz project, we are developing this young technology further on a commercial scale. Agrivoltaics helps the climate, it can increase biodiversity, and it serves as an additional source of income for agriculture.”
It’s the first time Vattenfall will implement a commercial project of this type, allowing the company to gain experience for future commercial agrivoltaic projects.
Vattenfall is currently testing the 0.7MWp pilot project in Almere, the Netherlands. The Symbizon agrivoltaic project will soon be operational and will also be used as a proof-of-concept.
Germany’s promising agrivoltaics landscape
Agrivoltaics is becoming a popular solution as a way to protect agricultural land for food production in the face of growing solar demand.
The potential for standard agrivoltaic farming in Germany is estimated at around 1.7TW (peak), more than 30 times the current total solar capacity in the country.
The use of vertical modules with the cultivation of feed on pasture continuing in between could add a further potential of 1.2TW (peak).
To incentivise investment in agrivoltaics, the Government has now made agrivoltaics eligible for guaranteed grid access and feed-in tariffs provided by the Renewable Energies Act (EEG).
