Large-scale climate protection

One of the largest solar parks in Germany is currently being built in the Uckermark region. GP JOULE is the general contractor responsible for the planning and construction of the 180-megawatt plant.

Farmers in Uckermark are used to aridity, as the region northeast of Berlin is one of the areas in Germany with the least rainfall. The climate crisis, however, has turned aridity more and more into a climatic drought – a real challenge for farmers, because with increasing water shortages comes a threat of significant crop losses. And not only in Uckermark.

So what can they do when drought stress becomes too much? Farmer Dietrich Twietmeyer, who owns large areas of land in western Uckermark, answers this question with a project that ensures his land is used sustainably, generates income for the region – and at the same time makes an important contribution to the fight against the climate crisis: with the construction of a solar park.

When the plant, named “Boitzenburger Land”, goes into operation on schedule at the beginning of August 2023, it will be one of the largest solar parks in Germany with an output of 180.3 megawatts over an area of around 175 hectares. Approximately 315,000 modules will supply about 190 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to satisfy the needs of 75,000 households. In doing so, the Boitzenburger Land solar park avoids the emission of around 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The design and construction of the plant is in the hands of the experts from GP JOULE EPC. They are responsible for the technical design, the planning of the solar park itself and also planning and implementing the connection to the high-voltage grid. The plant construction experts at GP JOULE are responsible for the specification and purchase of all components of the park, such as substructure, inverters, solar modules and medium-voltage transformers, as well as for their construction. GP JOULE EPC is also specifying, planning and implementing the transformer station for connection to the 110 kV high-voltage grid and the route to this grid connection point.

The EPC specialists from GP JOULE, together with the relevant experts, prepared the soil and statics reports and calculations for network compatibility and the fire protection safeguards that were needed. “We are making very good progress with the construction of the plant,” project manager Yannick Marlok is happy to announce. “Thanks to our long-standing, partnership-based relationships with manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors, we are not even being significantly hindered by the current supply bottlenecks on the global markets for technology and raw materials.”

The electricity generated is marketed by the Hessian utility company Mainova AG, based in Frankfurt am Main, which has also finalised the PPA contracts with the electricity consumers here. This means that the solar park manages completely without EEG (Renewable Energies Act) payments. Mainova AG also has a stake in the plant together with Solarenergie Boitzenburger Land GmbH as the majority shareholder and GP JOULE.

“The energy transition needs such powerful plants. Projects of this size help to achieve the speed of renewables expansion necessary for climate protection,” says Heinrich Gärtner, CTO and co-founder of GP JOULE. “The Boitzenburger Land region also benefits directly from this, as it participates in the economic success of the plant.” Last but not least, the project demonstrates the potential of the PPA model. “What it means for companies is that they can hedge against volatile electricity prices and improve their climate footprint at the same time,” explains Gärtner. His concludes: “PPA contracts accelerate the energy transition – without any state support at all!”