Project company drives forward the development of the Sonnenweg innovation park in Hirschberg

The Sonnenweg project company is continuing to drive forward the development of Sonnenweg and recently signed the lease agreements for two plots of land in the municipality of Hirschberg an der Bergstraße. The local cooperation partners GOLDBECK SOLAR, Energiegenossenschaft Hohe Waid and AVR Energie are jointly realizing the Sonnenweg innovation park – a versatile multi-purpose PV park that will be used for education and research in the future. The municipality of Hirschberg is actively supporting the project, which is reflected in the recent signing of the contract with Mayor Ralf Gänshirt. The start of construction for the first phase is planned for the beginning of 2025, so that the first solar energy can be harvested in the same year.

Ralf Gänshirt, Mayor of the municipality of Hirschberg an der Bergstraße: “From the outset, the project reflected the innovative power of broad stakeholder participation. The aim is not to install another ground-mounted PV system, but rather to explore the various ways in which PV power generation can be used in harmony with agriculture/environmental and species protection and to make this a tangible experience for the local population. The Hirschberg municipal council therefore voted in unison for support from the municipality of Hirschberg when the project was presented. Naturally, I am also personally pleased that the intensive efforts of the municipal administration in the land negotiations are now bearing fruit.”

The Sonnenweg Innovation Park comprises the development, realization and operation of a multi-purpose photovoltaic plant on around 10 hectares in Hirschberg an der Bergstraße. The solar park will comprise various open space solutions that will be used simultaneously for agriculture and biodiversity measures. The variety ranges from a ground-level agri-PV system to a high-mounted agri-PV system and a biodiversity solution. In addition, a reference area without PV systems is cultivated in order to be able to compare the respective agricultural yields. As an educational trail, the Sonnenweg serves to provide information about various multi-purpose PV concepts. It will provide a platform for sustainable education: Citizens, school classes, employees and interested parties can visit the plant and find out more with the help of the knowledge boards.

“We are delighted that by implementing this Agri-PV project, we are able to demonstrate the possible compromise of the joint use of open spaces by both agriculture and energy generation,” says Thomas Brümmer, authorized signatory of AVR Energie GmbH. “Especially in our densely populated Rhine-Neckar region, both play an equally important role.”

The total plant size of the Sonnenweg Innovation Park will be around 6 MWp, which will enable the efficient production of up to 7.2 GWh/year of clean energy. This will supply around 2,100 households per year with energy and at the same time save up to around 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year. The electricity produced can cover around half of the electricity needs of households in the municipality of Hirschberg. The green electricity generated by the PV system is sold via a direct marketer in accordance with the Renewable Energy Sources Act and fed into the public grid, which supports the concept of secure citizen participation.

“We are very pleased that the municipality is actively supporting the Sonnenweg and that we are a big step closer to the start of construction with the signing of the lease agreements,” emphasizes Joachim Goldbeck, CEO at GOLDBECK SOLAR. “The Sonnenweg embodies three of our central goals: It enables us to gain important experience in the field of Agri-PV, it helps to raise awareness of this topic and it sends a clear signal of our community’s commitment to citizen participation and nature and environmental protection.”