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The following article is a translation and was published on December 4th, 2020 in the Spreejournal Fürstenwalde, Bettina Winkler)

Five farmers from the Odervorland office are providing areas for a photovoltaic park, which is to become one of the largest in Brandenburg.
Farmers in the region have been concerned for years and are fighting to keep their farms going. Due to climate change, the amount of precipitation has almost halved in the last 30 years and the productivity of the soil is declining more and more.
The Sunfarming GmbH from Erkner is now promising farmers from the Steinhöfel community income independent of traditional agriculture. Double-use photovoltaic systems are to be built on low-yield soils. Means: On the one hand, solar energy is generated by the higher-placed modules. On the other hand, the areas below can still be used for agriculture.

Trees shield systems
The aim is to create a climate park that is spread over several areas. The systems should stand outside the field of vision and be shielded by hedges or rows of trees. The operator expects a total output of over 500 megawatts. This would make the future project one of the largest in Brandenburg. The community representatives are aware of the importance of the project and see a great opportunity for rural areas. They unanimously decided to initiate the necessary changes to the development plan and the land use plan in the individual districts. “The project is a huge opportunity for our company. We have long been looking for land use that is independent of the weather and offers financial security, ”says Benjamin Meise, Managing Director of Fürstenwalder Agrarprodukte GmbH. "Many farmers are up to their necks". Benjamin Meise has already selected abandoned or low-yield areas for the climate park.

Set-aside areas or low-yield soils are built on with modules.

The OderSpree district farmers' association also takes the view that photovoltaic systems belong on roofs, commercial and special buildings as well as conversion areas. For free-field systems, primarily non-agricultural areas are to be used. "In the case of agro-photovoltaic systems, on the other hand, the areas used for agriculture are not lost and can continue to be cultivated," says district manager Dr. Karsten Lorenz. In his opinion, the planned system in Steinhöfel should therefore be seen more as a pilot system in which several farmers have come together to test the new type of management using photovoltaics on very low-yield locations in terms of economy and profitability.
For Sunfarming from Erkner, the solar park on the planned scale is a pilot project.

PRESS RELEASE
Erkner, November 19, 2020 - SUNfarming GmbH, a specialist in project planning, turnkey implementation and technical and commercial management of photovoltaic systems in Germany and abroad, was able to achieve 5.75 million euros in the first phase of the offer period on November 18, 2020 of the new 5.5% corporate bond 2020/2025 (ISIN: DE000A254UP9). The funds received are intended for additional project development and pre-financing exclusively for German solar projects.

The security was included in trading on the Open Market of Deutsche Börse AG (open market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) on November 16, 2020 as planned. Interested private and institutional investors can continue to subscribe for the bond through Umweltfinanz Wertpapierhandelshaus GmbH up to the full placement with a volume of 10 million euros. The emission will be accompanied by Lewisfield Deutschland GmbH as financial advisor.

Martin Tauschke, CEO of SUNfarming GmbH: “We are very happy about the trust that investors have in us. Especially in view of the current capital market environment, we are extremely satisfied with the fact that we were able to successfully place around 60% of the total volume in the first two months of the offer period. This opening result speaks very clearly for our company, our strategy and the undisputed growth market of renewable energies."

Despite the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUNfarming expects 2020 to be a successful year with around 40 MWp of completed projects in Germany and abroad. For the first half of 2021, the project pipeline already comprises more than 30 MW. “We see ourselves well positioned for our further growth. We are particularly proud of the bid surcharges for over 13 MW in the tender by the Federal Network Agency. This shows that we are also successful in the market for larger freefield projects. Many other projects are already in intensive project development, ”explains Martin Tauschke.

More information can be found here (German)

(Photo, from left to right: Karsten Balzer, SUNfarming authorized signatory, Martin Tauschke, CEO of SUNfarming GmbH)

The loan agreement signed with mBank in September 2020 related to a portfolio of PV projects with a total capacity of over 22 MW and amounts to PLN 90.65 million. And the loan agreement signed in October 2020 for the 26 MW portfolio with ING Bank Śląski S.A. amounts to PLN 116 million. Both loans are for 15 years, which is also the period of the FIT payments granted. Furthermore, VAT could also be co-financed as a bridge loan.

The capacity of the individual projects from the SUNfarming Polska portfolio is less than 1 MW. Each project has a 15-year guarantee on the sale of energy in the auction system carried out by the Energy Regulatory Authority (URE) in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Almost all projects have already been completed and are already feeding into the public grid. SUNfarming Polska's portfolio includes projects that can be found across the country, most of the projects are located in Łódzkie, Wielkopolskie, Podlaskie and in the north-eastern part of Śląskie Voivodeship. In total, over 2 GW of photovoltaics were installed across Poland. The Polish market for ground-mounted photovoltaic power plants is mainly based on the auction system.

“We are very pleased that we have been able to conclude both loan agreements and that the Polish financial market has opened up for solar parks. The signing of both loan agreements is the culmination of the hard work of the entire team as well as the close collaboration with our experienced parent company. A big thank you also to the law firm Roedl & Partner from Gdansk and Luther Rechtsanwälte from Hamburg, who supported us in both loan transactions "- explains project manager of SUNfarming Polska, Anna Pilarczyk-Naprawski.

(Foto from left to right: Piotr Budzyniak, Martin Tauschke, Anna Pilarczyk, SUNfarming Polska)

These are open-space systems on landfills, roof-top systems and the first large agro-solar system (Food & Energy), through which sustainable solar energy for direct use of electricity in a neighoring biomethane plant and regional food can be produced together - on the same area. The order volume for the completed solar systems is approx. 10 million euros. As a result of the successful commissioning, the capacity installed by SUNfarming for the Schrum-Tauschke Group in Germany has increased to a total of 176 MWp. Around 700,000 built-in SUNfarming quality modules currently ensure annual green electricity production of around 176 million kilowatt hours, with which around 44,000 households (4,000 kWh p.a. per household) can be supplied in the energy equivalent. At the same time, with the current electricity mix the solar systems put into operation by SUNfarming in the above-mentioned period lead to annual CO2 savings of around 5,000 tons.

Martin Tauschke, Managing Director of SUNfarming GmbH: “With the solar systems we have implemented, our customers are focusing on sustainability and together we are making a valuable contribution to the energy transition and a regional, decentralized energy supply. Last but not least, the past challenging months, in which renewable energies have proven themselves in the current crisis, show that this is the right way to go, and also - with the increase in climate targets - have even now and more intensely moved into the positive focus of politics.

The Grobia facility is located near the town of Sierakow, which is known for its extensive leisure infrastructure and has numerous tourist resorts on the Jaroszewskie and Lutomskie lakes. The patronage city of Sierakow is the city of Schönberg in Germany.
The second investment is the Wolkowe A project (0.999 MW), which was built in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship in central Poland.
The Polish auction system for the award of contracts and a domestic policy based on renewable energies enable SUNfarming as a medium-sized company to support the expansion of renewable energies and to make profitable investments in Poland.
Photovoltaics is becoming more and more important among renewable energy sources in Poland, as it is the cheapest energy that can be obtained with existing technologies. In addition, the use of fallow land and soils with poor soil quality protects agricultural arable land.

Our PV open space systems offer many plants and animals urgently needed living space that has been lost due to intensively used agricultural areas. Our perennial wild herb meadows make an important contribution to promoting biodiversity.According to the Biodiversity Council, the extinction of pollinator insects threatens global food production with a value of 235 to 577 billion dollars per year. Out of 8 million insects, 1 million are threatened with extinction.

Extensive permanent green areas are created under the modules of our PV open-air systems, offering habitats for many animal and plant species that have already disappeared from intensively used agricultural areas. More insects mean more breeding birds. Here you can find food and e.g. Also sitting on the module rows and security fences. We do not fertilize or use any pesticides and there is also no machine tillage, factors that can negatively influence the fertility of the soil and the water balance. At the same time, the wild herb meadows promote humus formation, and the humus in turn binds carbon dioxide (CO2).

We work together with shepherds who like to use the fenced PV systems for their sheep. This summer there are 1200 sheep that keep the vegetation between the module rows short. The security fence offers protection from wolves. The module rows also offer weather protection in the rain or provide shade in summer.