GP JOULE starts construction of an 85-megawatt solar park in Friesland

Since 1999, the company Friesen Elektra has been operating a wind farm in Sande near Wilhelmshaven. Now a large open-space photovoltaic plant is being added. This is how the Sande Wind Farm becomes the Sande Hybrid Energy Park. The symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for a solar park with 85 megawatts of capacity was held in the presence of Lower Saxony's Minister of Economics Olaf Lies (SPD). The plant is scheduled to go into operation in early 2024. GP JOULE is taking over all EPC tasks for Friesen Elektra, i.e. all planning and procurement services, construction and commissioning of the solar park.

The ground conditions on the site in the district of Friesland are particularly challenging. In addition, wind farm lines have already been laid, so GP JOULE's planning and installation experts are particularly challenged on this project. "Our specialists have already proven many times at other plants that they can reliably and safely implement even structurally challenging projects thanks to their experience and expertise," explains Paola Pignatelli, project manager in plant construction at GP JOULE EPC.

"In the Hybrid Energy Park Sande, a regional energy value chain is being created: from wind and now also PV power to the production of green hydrogen. Together with GP JOULE, we combine innovation, environmental protection and teamwork to generate sustainable electricity and hydrogen on site. Together we are shaping a greener future," says Maximilian Graf von Wedel, Managing Director of Friesen Elektra.

The solar park is being built on an area of 95 hectares directly adjacent to the A29 highway. The area will later be grazed by sheep - a very environmentally friendly and gentle way to care for the area. Nature conservation also benefits from this: Sheep increase biodiversity because the function as "living taxis” as they bring in animal and plant species from areas previously grazed by them.

Solar and wind power for a regional hydrogen ecosystem

The plant's approximately 150,000 modules will supply about 85,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year. Friesen Elektra will use the solar as well as the wind power on site to produce green hydrogen, among other things. The hydrogen is intended to help make transport in the region more climate-friendly. To this end, the Gödens group of companies, the parent company of Friesen Elektra, together with partners, will build a hydrogen filling station in nearby Schortens - among other things for five hydrogen buses that Weser-Ems Busverkehr GmbH, the local public transport provider, plans to purchase in the course of this year.

"It is the same goal that drives Friesen Elektra and GP JOULE, namely to build the foundation for future life and business with renewable energies. This requires projects that create added value. On site. The Hybrid Energy Park Sande strengthens the region and we are very pleased to be able to contribute to its success with our planning and construction know-how," says Petersen, co-founder and CEO GP JOULE.

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About GP Joule
As an integrated energy supplier, GP JOULE is active in all areas of the energy value chain: from generating to using energy, from consulting to financing and project planning to construction and service. GP JOULE produces and markets wind and solar power, green hydrogen and heat and makes use of it where it is most effective: in electric and hydrogen-based mobility, in households and in industry. GP JOULE has been shaping the future of energy in Europe from Germany since 2009. With the aim of delivering a secure, independent and sustainable supply of energy. 100 % renewable energy for all.

The company's main locations are in Buttenwiesen, in the district of Dillingen, and in Reußenköge in North Frisia, where the founders and former fellow students Heinrich Gärtner and Ove Petersen each took over their parents' farms after studying agricultural engineering and expanded them with company offices. Around 600 people work for the medium-sized group of companies in Germany, Europe and North America.

GP JOULE was awarded the German Mobility Prize 2022 for the hydrogen mobility project eFarm.

Press contact
Jürn Kruse
Corporate Communications
GP JOULE Gruppe
j.kruse@gp-joule.de 
Tel. +49 (0) 4671-6074-213
Mobil +49 (0) 160-1540265
GP JOULE GmbH     Cecilienkoog 16  •  25821 Reußenköge  •  www.gp-joule.de