Schönefeld: Largest Agri-PV project with arable farming in Germany provides clean electricity for around 16,500 households while also being used for agricultural purposes
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Schönefeld: Largest Agri-PV project with arable farming in Germany provides clean electricity for around 16,500 households while also being used for agricultural purposes
GOLDBECK SOLAR, a leading provider of turnkey construction of industrial, commercial and large-scale photovoltaic systems, and Elysium Solar Schönefeld GmbH are setting an important milestone: the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of construction of the Agri-PV Park Schönefeld.
With a planned capacity of 48 MWp, the plant will produce around 59 GWh of green electricity per year in future – enough to supply more than 16,500 households with green electricity. This will save around 21,500 tons of CO2 per year, making a significant contribution to a sustainable energy supply in Brandenburg. With a construction period of around ten months, the project will be completed in August 2026. The park is owned by the Klimavest investment fund, a real asset fund of Commerzbank subsidiary Commerz Real.
The project combines state-of-the-art Agri-PV tracker technology with agricultural use. The bifacial modules on the movable substructure adapt dynamically to the position of the sun. The Agri-PV Tracker technology maximizes energy yields, while agricultural use can continue without restriction between the rows, taking into account sufficient row spacing. The result is an innovative concept that harmoniously combines arable farming and photovoltaics – for a sustainable, future-oriented and economically viable use of the land. With its dimensions, Schönefeld is currently the largest agri-photovoltaic project with arable farming in Germany.
The solar park is being built on an area directly adjacent to Schönefeld Airport. Due to its slightly hilly terrain and existing external lines (110 kV line, gas and water lines, power lines), the site poses special challenges for planning and implementation. In addition, explosive ordnance from the Second World War had to be cleared before construction work could begin.
Tobias Schüßler, COO of GOLDBECK SOLAR, emphasizes the importance of the project: “With the Schönefeld solar park, we are once again demonstrating that innovative technologies, sustainable energy generation and agricultural use can go hand in hand. Thanks to the flexible Agri-PV Tracker technology, we are able to achieve optimized energy yields without restricting agricultural use. At the same time, we are creating long-term ecological added value for the region with the largest Agri-PV project with arable farming in Germany.”
Richard Härtel, COO of Elysium Solar GmbH, is enthusiastic: “With the Agri-PV lighthouse project in Schönefeld, Elysium and its partners are showing how the market ramp-up of large-scale Agri-PV can succeed in Germany. Our holistic project development comprising solar energy, organic farming with accompanying research and measures to improve biodiversity and regional participation on the same area is setting new standards for acceptance in the energy and agricultural transition.”
