Construction has begun in Böhlen, Saxony, on another large-scale PV project that EP New Energies (EPNE) is developing and implementing as a strategic partner with LEAG: a 17-megawatt solar park is being built on the site of a former and partially recultivated industrial tailings pond at the Lippendorf power plant. The reuse of former industrial land, such as post-mining land or old power plant sites, is an essential component of the GigawattFactory energy concept, as it enables the expansion of renewable energies in a way that is both conflict-free and sustainable.
For the Head of Renewable Energies at LEAG, Fabian von Oesen, the start of construction is at the same time another important contribution to the expansion of LEAG’s green power portfolio. “We are consistently continuing our announced transformation into a major green power producer. With the Böhlen PV park, our GigawattFactory project is once again getting closer to our goal of building 7 gigawatts of renewable power generation capacity by 2030, primarily on opencast mining sites and power plant locations.”
EPNE Managing Director Dominique Guillou is also pleased with the success: “With the start of construction for the Böhlen PV Park and our other multi-megawatt solar projects in development, we are bringing the necessary power to the GigawattFactory. In total, we have already brought more than one gigawatt of LEAG’s project potential into approval procedures. Each of these projects makes an important contribution to a climate-neutral and secure energy supply.”
Guillou emphasizes the extensive compensatory measures being implemented in Böhlen: “Special attention is being paid to species protection. For example, certain areas have been excluded from construction work to protect the native sand lizard. At the same time, flowering strips, natural shelter options made of field stones and deadwood, and numerous nesting boxes are being created as ecological habitats to increase biodiversity.”
Once completed, the Böhlen PV park will consist of around 30,000 modules and supply almost 6,000 households with green electricity. The 14-hectare area where the PV plant is being built is the site of a former industrial settling facility for power plant ash, located directly on the site of a former open pit mine.
With a dimensioned expansion of solar and wind power, green electricity should increasingly become an economic factor for structural development in the Lusatian and Central German coalfields, while at the same time enabling the successful settlement of projects for the mobile and energetic use of hydrogen.
Your contact for further information:
Margarita Schulz, EPNE, HR & Communications Manager
Telefon 030 767584572, margarita.schulz@epne.de
Thoralf Schirmer, LEAG, Pressesprecher Büro Cottbus,
Telefon 0355 2887 3067, thoralf.schirmer@leag.de