After a year of development and pilot phase for SUNfarming's first self-developed floating PV system, which is now being realised, the total of 143 pontoons of the 750 kWp solar system are currently being installed on the gravel lake of Kieswerke Laprell KaphofGmbH & Co KG. Beforehand, concrete foundations for the anchoring of the floating PV system had already been brought to the bottom of the lake at a depth of about 10 metres. A total of 1,716 bifacial glass-glass modules, 4 inverters and 1 transformer will supply the gravel plant with its own electricity and thus contribute significantly to the customer's energy cost reduction and CO2 neutrality. A total of 16 assemblers and 2 site managers will set up the system on site in about 10 weeks, and the grid connection is scheduled to take place in April.
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A first tranche of EUR 12 million will be used to refinance a portfolio of 50 solar plants with 48 MWp. The funds will flow via a subordinated loan to the group company SUNfarming Polska IPP GmbH & Co. KG ("SUN IPP"), which bundles SUNfarming's Polish projects currently in under one roof and was established specifically for the partnership. Capcora acted as exclusive financial advisor to SUNfarming in the transaction. Financial close took place at the end of December 2022.

The mezzanine financing was issued in euros and has a term of 20 years. As the projects will be remunerated in Polish zloty, an adequate currency hedge was the focus of the structuring. Together with specialists, a robust solution was devised that enabled the asset manager HANSAINVEST Real Assets to finance the transaction with a low-risk premium despite the currency mismatch in the cash flow profile.

SUNfarming, the owner-managed company based in Erkner near Berlin, will use the financial resources for the development of further solar parks. Besides its home market Germany, Poland is the largest market for SUNfarming. The company is also one of the pioneers in the Polish market, which in 2022 set a new installation record of around five gigawatts and was the largest photovoltaic market in Europe behind Germany and Spain.

"We are pleased to be making our debut in the Polish renewable energy market with an existing partner who has also been active in the Polish market for years and already has a significant track record. We are convinced that Poland offers tremendous growth opportunities for us. The contract for difference system also provides inflation protection on the electricity revenues, which gives our investment further security," said Christoph Lüken, Head of Portfolio Management Infrastructure at HANSAINVEST Real Assets.

"We are expanding our successful partnership with HANSAINVEST Real Assets. Poland is our second main market, and we are grateful for the trust in our work, which is underlined by the extension of the partnership. 2022 has shown the potential that lies dormant in in Poland, and we are happy to take our partners with us on this journey," said Martin Tauschke, Managing Director of SUNfarming Group and SUN IPP.

"The transaction represents one of a small number of mezzanine financings in the still young but growing solar market. Euro financings present challenges to the industry due to a lack of cross currency swap liquidity in the long term. We are pleased to have been able to contribute to this complex transaction, having already assisted SUNfarming in structuring the interim construction financing and bank refinancing," explains Bernhard Hofmann, Director in Capcora's Energy and Infrastructure division.

HANSAINVEST Real Assets was supported in this transaction by Dentons, Baker Tilly and renerco plan consult. On the side of SUNfarming Group, Bird&Bird and Rödl&Partner acted as legal advisors and Capcora as exclusively mandated financial advisor.

In the second year after the foundation of the non-profit organisation FEED in Hamburg as well as its sister NGO FEED South Africa NPC in South Africa, the organisation has expanded and developed its sustainable projects: The fight against malnutrition of children in schools and kindergartens is still very much in the foreground. To this end, the SUNfarming Food & Energy facility in Potchefstroom in the North-West Province of South Africa trains children in the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and also medicinal herbs, which in turn are mixed into a Vitality Porridge to offer the children a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals that supports healthy development and provides energy for active participation in school lessons.

In 2022 alone, FEED has been able to provide balanced nutrition to 15,327 children at 38 schools and nurseries and 83,000 family members within a 200km radius of Potchefstroom through funds raised by private donors and integrated into the DEG project led by SUNfarming. .

After two years, the school headmasters confirm a significantly increased presence of the children in class as well as more active cooperation of the children and thus better school results. Together with the partners, FEED has thus been able to create the basis for many children to receive a good basic education at school and a strong foundation for their further educational and hopefully professional path.
Furthermore, within the framework of new training measures in sustainable agriculture for socially weak people and inhabitants of the townships around Potchefstroom, 30 women in particular were newly trained and accompanied by FEED. These women live in remote regions, mostly without a job or other income, with their families and often several children. The gardening training introduces them to the cultivation of food for their own consumption, with the aim of gradually training them to become farmers who can earn money together as cooperatives by selling their products.

The plants are spread over five sites, each equipped with a battery storage system and separate circuit for independent and reliable power supply of the main consumers, e.g. for medical care centre. The plants were built at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka and at the Centre for Atmospheric Research - National Space Research and Development Agency (CAR - NASRDA) in Abuja.

The YESPVNIGBEN research project is led by Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and funded by BAMF. On behalf of Forschungszentrum Jülich, SUNfarming has installed the training and research facilities as dual-use concepts "Food & Energy".

In addition to supplying energy, the facilities are used for research purposes. Professors at the university report: "Unfortunately, there is no proper electricity supply in Nsukka and the rest of the country. There are frequent power outages. The duration of the outages varies, sometimes it takes days. This is why obtaining important scientific data, in addition to the supply of electricity, is so important."
Other areas of research include
- Light transmission of the modules and effects on the cultivation of vegetables and herbs
- Temperature of the modules in connection with performance and service life
- A weather station measures the environmental parameters, the data is analysed online

All systems were assembled by local teams under the guidance of SUNfarming engineers. Necessary further assembly, repair and maintenance work will be carried out independently by these trained local employees in the future. Support from Germany is guaranteed at all times. To ensure operational safety, the entire system will be evaluated via a digital monitoring platform.

Several thousand farmers from Germany, but also from countries such as Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, Canada and the USA - came to the SUNfarming stand to find out about Agri-PV solutions for both animals and special crops. More than 1,000 hectares of potential Agri-Solar areas were included in the early SUNfarming planning in Germany.

For more than 10 years, SUNfarming has been developing Agri-PV solutions with glass-glass modules and rainwater distribution system under the modules with its own engineers and has been researching them for many years in different developing countries of the world under extreme climatic conditions as well as with different types of plants. Due to the climate changes as well as the energy crisis in Germany, farmers from all over Germany and neighbouring countries were very interested in the SUNfarming solutions. They were particularly enthusiastic about the well thought-out solution for keeping animals on pastures protected by Agri-PV all year round.

Due to the rainwater separation and the semi-transparent modules, which allow approx. 15 % light to pass through, plant growth is ensured under the modules, CO2 remains in the soil due to the areal moisture distribution. The agricultural status of the land is maintained with SUNfarming Agri-PV. As a partner of the farmer, SUNfarming places particular emphasis on the agricultural concept, which is developed together with the farmer and his agricultural advisor. SUNfarming Agri-PV is ideally suited for areas with low soil points as well as arable land for special crops (fruit/vegetables) and for animal welfare-oriented livestock farming, as well as for moorland that is to be re-wetted.

As a contribution to the energy turnaround and energy supply with green photovoltaic electricity, SUNfarming is realising a photovoltaic plant on the 9-hectare site of the Ohmbach household waste landfill, which has been closed since 1 February 2022. With a module area of over 2.3 hectares, this is the largest open-space photovoltaic plant within the boundaries of the city of Pirmasens.
Andreas Flörchinger, Head of SUNfarming Project Development: "I am very pleased to be able to implement this project in my former home region of Palatinate, together with Ralf Gebhard, Head of SUNfarming South-West. The PV plant, which has been under construction since October 2022, offers an opportunity to create an additional use with added value for the environment and society on an ecologically damaged landfill site. The photovoltaic plant on the landfill site is scheduled for completion by March 2023. We at SUNfarming would like to express our gratitude for the very good cooperation with the city of Pirmasens."

Some facts about the plant:
- 2,470 t CO2 savings per year due to the photovoltaic plant Landfill Ohmbachtal, Pirmasens.
- 823 cars can offset their CO2 emissions with 20,000 km/year of driving or
- 2000 households can be supplied with 2,500 kWh/year of CO2-neutral PV electricity.
- Grid feed-in: approx. 5,083,440 kWh/year

Further ecological added value for biodiversity
- Flowering strips
- Honey production
- Cooperation with local beekeepers
- Food for insects
- Sheep grazing in cooperation with local shepherds