Municipalities + agriculture

The Ministry of Economics, Labour and Energy and the Berlin-Brandenburg regional group of the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) awarded the Heinersdorf project a special prize at the Energy Efficiency Award 2021 ceremony.
Heiner Kamper, project manager of SUNfarming: "The jury emphasised the high educational value for the children. Furthermore, the jury praised the project as a positive example of citizen participation in the energy transition.
We congratulate Bürgerenergie Oder-Spree on this award and thank them for their trust in SUNfarming."

The plant size is 47.6 KWp, the produced output is 45,000 KWh and the self-consumption for school and kindergarden is 50%. The communities bear no risk, the roofs are leased from the capital contributions of the cooperative members and supply the community with cheap, renewable energy via the SUNfarming PV system. The citizens' cooperative is planning to lease further roofs and to have them realised.

The funds received are intended for additional project development and pre-financing exclusively for German solar projects.

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 already successfully place around 75% of the total volume. This 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 50 MWp of completed projects in Germany and abroad.
For the first half of 2021, the project pipeline already comprises more than 30 MW.

More information can be found here (in German)

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

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.

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 demand for on-roof PV systems for residential, commercial and industrial buildings with an installed capacity of less than 750 kWp have risen sharply in recent years.
For the electricity of rooftop photovoltaic systems with an installed capacity of less than 750 kilowatts peak (kWp), the operator receives a fixed remuneration in accordance with the Renewable Energies Act (EEG). In contrast, the operator of a plant with an installed capacity of more than 750 kilowatts peak must take part in a tendering procedure, whereby the level of support for the installations is determined in a competition.
Tenders are very expensive, the electricity produced may not be used for own use according to the EEG and the amount of subsidy depends on the cheapest provider.
Another advantage of rooftop systems compared to open space PV systems is that no building application has to be made for the construction.
A 750 kWp photovoltaic system can produce an average of 700,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which corresponds to a power consumption of around 250 households
Photovoltaic systems (PV systems) make an important contribution to climate protection. In 2017, more than 39,300 gigawatt hours of electricity were generated by PV systems in Germany, which can supply around 12 million households.

The municipalities of Reisdorf, Wegleben, Wolmirsleben, Harzgerode, Hennickendorf and Zahna are committed to sustainability with the construction of solar energy systems, thus making a valuable contribution to a regional energy supply. The plants were partly completed in November or EEG compliant completed until 31th of decembre this year, the grid connection is a short time later.
Each 750 kWp plant supplies clean and green electricity for more than 240 households. The CO2 savings per plant are 440,000 kg / year, on average as many as 165 middle-class cars (8l / 100km) emit per year.

"Our range of investors spans the entire breadth, from project development to service and monitoring, all from one source. We have developed a unique quality assurance system for banks and investors. Our PV components are based exclusively on high-quality materials. In addition to the certification by the TÜV Rheinland and the Photovoltaikinstitut Berlin, SUNfarming experts for quality assurance check the module factories unannounced and monitor the production for all technical components according to a particularly strict system.
An average of 7% additional capacity from our systems over the past few years confirms the premium quality of our components, "explains Martin Tauschke, SUNfarming Managing Director.