Municipalities + agriculture

This means that, with immediate effect, MR Mittelholstein is the exclusive machinery ring in Schleswig-Holstein for advising and supporting farmers with the implementation of SUNfarming agrivoltaic systems. Agri-photovoltaic pioneer SUNfarming, whose founding family from Dithmarschen has been active in agriculture for several generations, is one of the leading providers of agrivoltaic systems and develops the system technology and system substructures in Flensburg and Kiel.
In joint information events, to which Maschinenring Mittelholstein will be inviting people on 29 November and 10 December at the Nienborstel office, SUNfarming will be providing information specifically on the development, economic viability and approval processes for privileged 2.5 ha agri-PV systems close to farms.

‘As an innovative machinery ring, MR Mittelholstein has been supporting farms since 1988 with a wide range of services, from hoof care to domestic support and insurance. Due to the high demand for on-farm agrivoltaic systems from farmers, the machinery ring is predestined as a trustworthy partner to also provide all information and consulting services relating to agrivoltaic systems,’ says Uwe Reimers, Managing Director of Maschinenring Mittelholstein. ‘We have known SUNfarming as a pioneer in the field of agrivoltaics for many years and are convinced of their one-stop solution from Schleswig-Holstein. That's why we decided in favour of this exclusive partnership.’

‘We are looking forward to working with Maschinenring Mittelholstein. Mr Reimers and his team in the office offer a professional range of advice for agricultural businesses and can thus specifically address all questions relating to the agricultural business concept and the dual use of land with agriculture and renewable energies,’ says Edith Seemann, Managing Director of SUNfarming Projekt GmbH.

Maschinenring Mittelholstein is fully committed to helping farmers, their families, private households and businesses. The most important objective is to improve the quality of life and economic viability of people living in rural areas. In order to achieve this goal, Maschinenring Mittelholstein offers its members and customers as well as all interested parties numerous active services in the areas of relief & support, advice & expertise, machinery & technology, animals & plants as well as trade & brokerage.

If you are interested, please contact info(at)mr-mittelholstein.de directly for information on dates for the information events as well as for individual consultation appointments relating to SUNfarming Agri-Photovoltaics.

On 26 November 2024, an exciting event on the topic of ‘Agriculture with a future’ took place in Güstrow. As part of this event, organised by Bürgschaftsbank Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Edith Seemann, Managing Director of Project Development at SUNfarming, spoke to 40 experienced bank advisors about innovative agri-photovoltaic concepts. She was accompanied by Uwe Brandt, Sales Manager for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Sustainable agriculture with Agri-PV

The presentation focussed on the dual use of agricultural land through agrivoltaics (agri-PV). Edith Seemann gave a practical demonstration of how the use of agrivoltaic solutions can sustainably increase yield security in fruit and vegetable cultivation as well as in animal husbandry. She emphasised the following advantages in particular:

- Preservation of agricultural status: Agri-PV preserves the agricultural use of the land, which is essential for many farmers.
- Yield increase and protection: The systems protect against extreme weather conditions such as hail or heavy rainfall, thus ensuring stable crop yields.
- Climate-friendly energy generation: The combined use of agriculture and solar energy contributes to the energy transition and offers an additional source of income.

Dialogue with bank advisors

The presentation provided bank advisors with a valuable basis for supporting farmers in investing in sustainable projects such as agri-PV in the future. ‘The integration of agri-PV into existing farms opens up new perspectives,’ emphasised Edith Seemann. ‘It is an opportunity to combine economic stability and environmental protection.’

Uwe Brandt added that there is great potential for agri-PV in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in particular, with its extensive agricultural land. He presented concrete examples and models of how this could be realised.

Prospects and outlook

The event in Güstrow made it clear that innovative approaches such as agri-PV not only pave the way for sustainable agriculture, but also make an important contribution to the energy transition. The lively discussion and positive feedback from participants emphasised the growing interest in these solutions.

SUNfarming looks forward to continuing to support farmers, investors and consultants with sustainable concepts and working together on resilient, environmentally friendly agriculture.

After an intensive set-up phase, we presented an eye-catching 1:1 Agri-PV installation and an inviting exhibition stand to over 5,200 trade visitors. In around 100 discussions, we were able to convince more than 30 interested farmers, who are active in various cultivation areas such as pasture farming, chickens, soft fruit, pome fruit and also special crops, of the SUNfarming-Agri-Solar concepts. This will now be followed by profitability calculations and qualified offers.

Steinhöfel, 28 August 2024 - SUNfarming GmbH (the leading developer and investor for agrivoltaic systems in Germany) is working with SPIE (the independent European market leader for multi-technical services in the energy and communications sectors) to build the substation for green electricity from Europe's largest agrivoltaic project ‘Klimapark Steinhöfel’. This extends across eight districts and will connect a total installed capacity of up to 753 megawatt peak (MWp) to the grid. The plant with a total of four transformers will ensure that the energy generated is reliably fed into the existing high-voltage grid of the regional distribution grid operator E.DIS via 110-kilovolt cable systems.

The Steinhöfel climate park is a lighthouse project in the photovoltaic sector and combines sustainable energy generation with genuine agricultural production on an area of around 500 hectares. Innovative designs and technologies enable efficient and sustainable dual use of the agricultural land with light and rainwater management under the DIN SPEC-compliant bifacial glass-glass PV modules at a minimum height of 2.10 metres. This dual utilisation has lasting positive effects on animal welfare and husbandry, biodiversity, CO2 reduction, groundwater protection and agricultural yield security on the sandy soils in this region, which have been difficult to cultivate up to now. SUNfarming developed the agricultural concept for the Steinhöfel climate park in close cooperation with an agricultural consultancy for local farms and local farmers and brought it to the planning permission stage within a four-year development period. Once the agri-PV systems have been built, the agricultural land will be used as perennial fodder production areas and as temporary portion pastures for calf and heifer rearing.

SPIE is providing all services for this project, from planning permission and implementation planning to the entire procurement of materials for the substation, primary and secondary planning, installation and commissioning. ‘With our technical solutions, we enable the integration of renewable energies and thus create the infrastructural prerequisites for the energy transition and a climate-friendly future,’ says Burkhard Sager, Head of the High Voltage division at SPIE Germany & Central Europe. ‘We are pooling our decades of experience to realise this complex project,’ adds Hannes Weinreich, Head of the Green Substations department in SPIE Germany & Central Europe's High Voltage division. ‘The main challenge here is the tight schedule, in which many work steps have to dovetail precisely for a project of this magnitude to succeed

‘The Steinhöfel Climate Park is the largest SUNfarming pioneer project, which we have successfully developed in just under four years with the statute resolutions in all districts,’ explains Martin Tauschke, co-founder and Managing Director of SUNfarming. ‘We can only realise this ambitious project thanks to the very good and close cooperation with the municipality of Steinhöfel, the citizens of the region, the Oder-Spree district, our agricultural landlords and our technical partners.’ SUNfarming has been developing and researching its own Agri-PV systems for more than 10 years. ‘Our agri-PV solutions convince farmers and investors alike,’ explains Edith Brasche, Managing Director of Project Development at SUNfarming. ‘We are currently developing several gigawatts of agrivoltaic systems - for use in crop and fruit growing as well as for keeping suckler cows and calves, poultry and fallow deer. The Steinhöfel climate park is part of our research to prove that agrivoltaic systems protect the environment, nature and groundwater against climate change and bring real added value to rural regions,’ says Brasche.
Work on the substation is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with commissioning planned for the second quarter of 2026. The first parts of the Agri-PV park in Steinhöfel will be connected directly to the grid via the substation once it is commissioned.

As a driver of the energy transition, E.DIS Netz GmbH is proud to contribute its expertise and support to this pioneering project. As a long-standing supporter and driver of the energy transition in the region, E.DIS Netz GmbH is significantly involved in providing the grid connection at the Steinhöfel substation, which serves as the hub for feeding green electricity from Europe's largest agri-solar project. ‘Our partnership in this project underlines our ongoing commitment to developing innovative solutions for a sustainable energy supply,’ emphasises Petra Kortenkamp, Head of Individual Customers at E.DIS Netz GmbH. ‘For over two years, we have been intensively involved in the planning and realisation of the technical grid connection, which enables the renewable energy generated to be efficiently integrated into the grid. Our focus here is on a forward-looking and secure energy infrastructure.’ E.DIS Netz GmbH sees this project not only as a significant investment in the regional energy industry, but also as an important step towards a climate-neutral future. ‘This project impressively demonstrates how collaboration and technological innovation can pave the way for a sustainable energy future.
‘This project is an impressive demonstration of how collaboration and technological innovation can pave the way for a sustainable energy future. We are determined to further strengthen our contribution to the energy transition and to promote and implement innovative projects that drive the energy transition forward,’ adds Petra Kortenkamp.

The forum brought together a variety of companies connected with Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG (SH-Netz) – from pure feeders to battery project developers to municipal representatives. However, the majority of attendees were feeders. The main goal of the forum was to facilitate mutual acquaintance, understand the current situation of SH-Netz, and work together on solutions. Additionally, SH-Netz's plans and roadmap for the coming years and decades were presented, including the future grid development in Schleswig-Holstein.

Some of the exciting information shared during the forum included SH-Netz's ambitious goals for 2024. SH-Netz plans to connect an additional 2000 MW. The three essential components of their target grid are:

1. Grid Coupling Points: Over 20 new 380/110 kV substations with a capacity of around 1 GW
2. 110 kV Overhead Lines: 950 km of new 110 kV overhead lines
3. 110 kV Substations: 100 new 110/20 kV substations

However, grid expansion also brings significant challenges, including long approval times of 2-4 years, skilled labor shortages, material delivery times of over 3 years, and land acquisition times of 1-3 years. Additionally, the planning basis is complex due to unpredictable feeder requests and load fluctuations. In addition to grid expansion, SH-Netz is significantly increasing the number of annual connections. Currently, 104,700 installations are connected to the grid, and a yearly increase of over 50,000 installations is forecasted for 2024-2026.

SUNfarming looks forward to working together with SH-Netz and other partners to successfully implement these ambitious plans and further advance the energy transition in Schleswig-Holstein.

Under the moderation of Simon Schoon, Project Manager of the Grassland Centre Lower Saxony/Bremen e.V., SUNfarming Managing Director Edith Brasche presented the SUNfarming Agri and Moor PV concepts and solutions for the sustainable agricultural use of grassland and moorland. Helmut Wahl, energy technology consultant at the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, provided information on the legal and tax framework for agri-PV compared to traditional ground-mounted PV systems. Questions relating to the realisation and approval of corresponding agri-PV and moorland PV solutions were discussed during the open discussion round. During the subsequent visit to Hof Hanken in Elsfleth, farmer Dirk Hanken reported on how well the SUNfarming moorland PV pilot system had been received by his cattle on the moorland grazing area. It is particularly noticeable that the sward under the modules is completely covered with grass.

Lena Weber and Dr Dina Hamidi from the University of Göttingen presented initial scientific findings from animal husbandry under agri-PV on peatland. In the concluding survey, many of the interested visitors stated that they would like to develop specific agri-PV or peatland PV projects on their land and enquired about lease payments and participation models for specific projects from SUNfarming Managing Director Edith Brasche and Project Manager Lower Saxony Thomas Reimers.

All interested parties are also cordially invited to SUNfarming's research and development centre in Rathenow near Berlin, Am Heidefeld 13, where the company will be presenting all types of agri- and peatland PV with crop cultivation and animal husbandry in detail. For appointment enquiries, please contact e.brasche(at)sunfarming.de.