Extinction of pollinator insects threatens to produce $ 235-577 billion a year worldwide, according to the Biodiversity Council. Of 8 million insects, 1 million are threatened with extinction.
In March we started our pilot project "SUNfarming Wild Herbs Meadows - for more biodiversity ". First, the right seed mixture had to be found: it should be perennial and contain many medicinal herbs, bees and insects should find food and shelter throughout the summer, the meadow should be colorful so that also pleases our eyes.
"Skeptically we looked at the small amount of seed ordered: 1 kg for one hectare of arable land! We milled, sown and rolled - and then waited, "says Ursula Eckmann, SUNfarming Marketing.

"It followed a long dry April, on our field was still nothing to see. At the end of May we could see the first tender green and long-awaited rain brought us the sight of a dense herb carpet. The carpet is now more than knee high at the beginning of July and in the photo you can see how colorful it blooms. Bees, beetles, bumblebees, caterpillars and butterflies frolic on the flowers and leaves, with a stature height of about 60 cm, the meadow is an ideal hiding place for animals, "Ursula Eckmann continues.

Many plants are known as medical herbs and can be used to make teas, ointments and tinctures. Marigolds have a disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and wound healing, shepherd's purse contains a lot of vitamin C and a lot of minerals, yarrow was already known in the Middle Ages as a special gypsophila and ribwort helps with itchy mosquito bites. Many of the seeded herbs have a positive effect on the entire cardiovascular system. Rosemary improves blood circulation, oregano soothes and borage counteracts nervous irritation. Frequent use in the kitchen is well worth it.
With a stature height of 60 cm there is no impairment of the performance of the solar modules by shading.
Our solar parks not only generate renewable energy but, at the same time, provide added value for nature through the dual use of the areas. Bloom strips between the rows of modules promote the biodiversity of plants and animals. Herbal mixtures, herbal salads, smoothies or Sunny Wild Honey are produced regionally and sustainably.

SUNfarming Conclusion: Diversity is healthy!

With more than 182 participating countries and over 2,000 projects submitted each year, the Energy Globe Award is currently the world's most prestigious environmental award. It recognizes projects at the regional, national and global level that conserve resources such as energy or use renewable or emission-free sources. Award ceremonies take place all over the world. Celebrities and Energy Globe Ambassadors in 90 countries support Energy Globe's mission. Energy Globe's activities attract media attention worldwide - international television stations report about 1,000 hours of air time each year. The aim of the Energy Globe is to draw worldwide attention to sustainable, universally applicable environmental solutions and to motivate people to become active in this area as well.

"We are proud of our project and the performance of our team and are pleased that the uniqueness of our project has been rewarded with the Energy Globe Award.The Hybrid Center Bahamas is intended as a test facility for hurricane resistant special solar panels and substructures a blue print for other larger facilities in areas where there is no network access", explains Peter Schrum, SUNfarming founder and principal shareholder.

SUNfarming also qualified for this year's Energy Globe World Award by winning the Energy Globe National Award.

Together with bioltec Systems GmbH, SUNfarming has developed a training and demonstration center for the Bahamas for renewable energies, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility - the Bahamas Hybrid Center. Partners include 700 Island Energy and Windsor High School. The Bahamas Hybrid Center is installed at Windsor High School in Albany, Nassau.

SUNfarming wins Energy Globe Award Bahamas

The Caribbean region is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels and food.
The Windsor High School imports all of their food for the student’s cafeteria from outside the country. More than 80% of the Nation of the Bahamas does the same due to a systemic failure in agricultural development and incentives. The Windsor school is provided energy from the national power grid which receives electricity generated from large diesel engines consuming blends of fuel oil and diesel fuel.

The goal of the Hybrid Center Bahamas is to instruct and demonstrate on the topics of SUNfarming Food & Energy, electromobility and bioltec’s fuel efficiency management (renewable fuels) in an alliance with 700 Islands Energy to create the conditions for the development of an economic model that will contribute to the independence of the Caribbean countries in terms of fossil fuels as well as food and water security.

Since the installation of the SUNfarming and bioltec system, a portion the food and energy consumed by Windsor Schools is not produced renewably and sustainably. In addition the basics of photovoltaics and agriculture along with the specific of operating the hybrid center are now included in the science curriculum of the school. So students and faculty are able to operate the hybrid center and instruct others on the value of such systems.

This project is part of the worldwide dena Renewable Energy Solutions Programme coordinated by the Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) - the German Energy Agency - and supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) within the German Energy Solutions Initiative.

Read more about SUNfarming Hybrid Center

At the end of April, Peter Schrum, the main shareholder of the SUNfarming Group, and Holger Schönherr, SUNfarming project manager, were invited to the Energy Ministry in Albania to introduce SUNfarming Food & Energy concepts.
During this trip, SUNfarming Albania was founded, which will combine its business activities in Albania with local cooperation partners.
Minister Balluku was very interested and expressed her support for the realization of Food & Energy in Albania

Find out more about SUNfarming Food & Energy

For years, the SUNfarming Group has been committed to promoting children's, youth and competitive sport in canoe racing. The general meeting of the Potsdam homeland association of our managing partner Martin Tauschke voted by a large majority on 17 May for the implementation of the SUNfarming Direct Electricity Concept without own investment, together with a subsidy for the roof renovation from the one-off lease.

The financial possibilities of many sports clubs are just sufficient to secure the daily training and competition operation, also thanks to a high honorary commitment. For refurbishments due, there is usually no or not enough capital available. The SUNfarming Direct Electricity Concept significantly relieves the sports club - the one-off lease payments under the roof lease cover a large part of the roof renovation costs due and, in addition, reduce the electricity costs by 10% for the kilowatt hours consumed in the following years. The investment of the solar system takes over the SUNfarming, so that there are no costs to the clubs here.

"I am pleased that I can give my home club the opportunity of the SUNfarming Direct Electricity Concept with roof renovation subsidy via SUNfarming. With a planned installation of 475 kWp, we can provide the association with approx. 50% of the annual electricity consumption of approx. 60,000 kWh, which is 10% cheaper than the current procurement costs. The excess solar energy is fed into the public grid. The implementation of the project is planned for the second half of this year, "says Martin Tauschke, Managing Director of SUNfarming GmbH. There are still many canoe and other sports clubs not only in the state of Brandenburg, which face similar challenges. Of course, SUNfarming also offers the same concept to them - please contact us.

Martin Tauschke thanks his Potsdam hometown club and wins the silver medal at 200m in a one-kayak at the weekend - a double success for SUNfarming and the Potsdam Canoe Club.

Find out more about the SUNfarming Direct Electricity Concept

"The long-term financing instrument with low capital costs enables us to expand our working capital financial leeway and drive our expansion in Germany and abroad. The fresh capital offers us the opportunity to further expand our portfolio of solar plants in Germany, Europe and Africa, "says Martin Tauschke, Managing Director of the SUNfarming Group and BPG IPP. "In particular, we will have the opportunity to further develop our innovative Food & Energy concepts and implement our first large-scale projects in the near future," continues Martin Tauschke. However, the SUNfarming Group will continue to focus on the realization and investment of classic solar systems with fixed feed-in tariffs on roofs and unused open spaces, especially in Europe. The company's own PV portfolio is also to be expanded by acquiring existing plants.

Click here for the official press release, only available in German

As every year, the interest in our products and projects has been great and our SUN farmers have had many concrete discussions with local and international partners from Europe, Africa and Latin America in order to initiate projects and to further develop current projects. In addition, contacts with suppliers and technical production partners and banks as well as international financing institutions were expanded. The DKB (Deutsche Kreditbank AG) and the ING Bank visited our stand, as well as the international banks FMO (Dutch Development Bank) and the World Bank subsidiary IFC, to discuss the development of relations in the financing of German and international projects of the SUNfarming Group.

Delegations, among others from Angola, Brazil and the Congo, learned in conversations with our expert project managers about the outstanding developmental possibilities of our product
"SUNfarming Food & Energy".

"The demand for on-roof PV systems for commercial and industrial plants with an installed capacity of less than 750 kWp has risen sharply. From December 2018 to February 2019, we completed 9.14 megawatts. Together with the ground-mounted systems with less than 750 kWp, we have a volume of approx. 20 MW in Germany alone, which we realized in our own investment in the last six months, "explains Martin Hinneburg, Head of Purchasing and Calculation.

"We are very satisfied with the fair days! In addition to existing customer care, we were able to make many new contacts, which will be very helpful to us on the path of internationalization of the project business. We will exhibit again at Intersolar next year, "says Martin Tauschke, CEO of SUNfarming.