Trade + industry

For visitors to our stand: You are hereby cordially invited to contact Ms Anja Kirchner to make an appointment: +49 (0)3362 8859 166, a.kirchner@sunfarming.de

SUNfarming, based in Erkner near Berlin, is a family-run, medium-sized company in the solar energy sector which is a leader in the development, construction and operation of photovoltaic systems and also invests in the production of renewable energies and green hydrogen for climate protection and energy security. In addition to rooftop PV plants, open space plants on landfills and conversion areas as well as floating PV plants, SUNfarming's special focus is the development, construction and operation of agricultural and moorland photovoltaic plants in Germany and internationally. With innovative dual-use concepts especially for agriculture as well as horticulture and viticulture, SUNfarming is sustainably advancing the energy turnaround. SUNfarming develops innovative PV solutions with its own engineers, has already realised more than 650 MW of installed capacity and has more than 230 MW of plant capacity in its own portfolio. SUNfarming has already received numerous awards for its Food, Energy & Training concepts in various developing countries.

Heinsberg, 09.06.2022. Almost one year after the foundation of SUNfarming West GmbH in Heinsberg, a subsidiary of the SUNfarming Group with headquarters in Erkner near Berlin, the first 5.1 MW solar park on the site of the former gravel pit "Tagebau Wilhelm" of the Heinsberg families Quadflieg and Hensing could be connected to the grid. As a pioneer in the field of agri-voltaic systems, investor and operator of more than 350 megawatts of PV systems in its own portfolio, SUNfarming has installed innovative elements of its two product types "agri- and eco-photovoltaics" in this solar park for the first time in the Rhineland.

In this way, another subsequent use has been created on the backfilled former gravel pit, which from now on will make an important contribution to energy security in Heinsberg as well as to the reduction of climate-damaging greenhouse gases. The PV system generates regional green electricity that will supply more than 1,500 households. Sheep graze under the module tables, and a flowering meadow has been laid out on the surface to breed queen bees so that flora and fauna can develop undisturbed. In total, the plant saves about 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. In the future, part of the electricity will be used to balance the Alliander grid. In addition, the green electricity will be available to the people of Heinsberg as regional electricity from the local solar park. The electricity supplier lekker Energie will soon offer such a regional electricity product for electricity customers in Heinsberg.

"SUNfarming is a German medium-sized family business that develops, builds, operates and mostly finances all types of photovoltaic systems in 15 countries around the world, including classic ground-mounted, roof-mounted and landfill systems as an investor. However, our focus is on the dual use of extensively used agricultural land for our agri- and eco-PV as well as also gardening and orcharding concepts and for our animal welfare plants with suckler cow husbandry," explains Edith Brasche, member of the management board of SUNfarming West and director for international projects of SUNfarming. "In addition to climate protection and the generation of renewable energy, we are also particularly interested in ensuring agricultural use or the production of food under the facilities. Since 2014, the SUNfarming group has implemented Agri-PV concepts, also known as Food & Energy plants, in South Africa and other African countries, Turkey, Madagascar and the Dominican Republic. In Africa and Southern Europe, it has been shown that Agri-PV is able to protect plants and animals from climate-related, damaging weather conditions, such as we are unfortunately increasingly experiencing here in the Rhineland. We also want to contribute to keeping as much CO2 as possible in the soil through rewetting under the plants," says Edith Brasche.
Igor Hensing, a graduate mining engineer with many years of experience in the field of new technologies in biomass, renewable energies and green chemistry, is also a member of the management of SUNfarming West and is pleased that after almost ten years of development, the realisation of this project in Heinsberg has now succeeded: "On an area like the former Wilhelm open-cast mine, the realisation of such an innovative solar park with agricultural use and contribution to biodiversity is simply ideal. Due to the maximum fist height of 2.90 m, the plant fits in here on the site and ideally into the landscape. At the same time, almost no area was sealed," explains Igor Hensing. "Dual-use concepts such as agri- and eco-PV or solar on water could make a major contribution to achieving the internationally agreed climate targets without causing conflicts in land use. We urgently need to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. The climate protection goals to which we as Europeans committed in Paris 2015 mean, for example, a quadrupling of solar energy production for NRW by 2030. We do not have much time! The approval procedures for renewable energies must be significantly simplified and accelerated," says Igor Hensing.
Reiner Priggen also welcomes the official start of the largest solar park of this kind in NRW, which contains agri and eco-PV elements: "According to the plans of the state government so far, the installed solar power capacity is to be almost quadrupled to 24,000 megawatts by 2030. That is why we need many such innovative dual-use projects like the one in Heinsberg as soon as possible," emphasised the Chairman of the NRW Renewable Energies Association (LEE NRW) at the inauguration ceremony.
On this occasion, Priggen called on the emerging new Düsseldorf state government of the CDU and the Greens to use photovoltaics to an "extent not yet known nationwide". "For this we need not only every private and commercial roof, but as many agri- and floating PV projects as possible, as well as open space installations on the verges of motorways and railway lines.

SUNfarming specialises primarily in large-scale systems, the occupation of conversion areas, landfill sites and with a particular focus on Agri-PV, Eco-PV and Moorland PV systems. Special quality features are the extremely durable and high-yielding glass-glass modules combined with a sophisticated irrigation system and a stable steel construction with which the modules are placed at different heights. SUNfarming has its own teams for technical development and quality control. SUNfarming's development and implementation know-how was also used, among other things, in the development and construction of the research and demonstration plant of the Jülich Research Centre and the Fraunhofer Institute as part of the BioeconomyREVIER structural change initiative at the Morschenich-Alt site near Jülich, which was completed a few months ago.

About SUNfarming:
SUNfarming was founded in 2004 by the North German entrepreneur and agricultural economist Peter Schrum and his partner Martin Tauschke in Erkner near Berlin. The family-run project developer and investor realises turnkey solar plants with a focus on agri- and eco-solar plants and is active in 15 countries around the world. As an investor, SUNfarming operates approx. 350 MW of solar power in its own portfolio and is currently working on a further 2.5 gigawatt project volume in Germany alone. SUNfarming had already developed its own quality seal for solar modules in 2007. In the company's own research and development centre in Rathenow near Berlin, SUNfarming has been researching and developing the cultivation of vegetables, medicinal herbs, fruit and wine as well as the keeping of chickens, sheep and suckler cows with calves under PV and the use of new PV technologies and agri-robots under the modules in cooperation with various universities since 2018. SUNfarming has already received several awards for its holistic commitment through the use of its "Food & Energy concepts" in combination with the production of food, the training of needy people in sustainable agriculture and the creation of jobs. SUNfarming is also a founding member of the Bundesverband Regenerative Mobilität e.V. and the non-profit development aid association Food, Education, Energy & Development e.V..

Contact:
SUNfarming West GmbH
At the Vossenweg 2
52525 Heinsberg
Germany
Edith Brasche
Mobile: +49 152 536 169 93
e.brasche@sunfarming.de
Igor Hensing
Mobile: +49 172 214 3827
i.hensing@sunfarming.de

PRESS RELEASE: Erkner/Heinsberg, 10.02.2022. SUNfarming Group AG is one of Germany's leading project developers and investors in the field of solar energy and is also a pioneer in the development and operation of agri-photovoltaic systems. This type of plant enables the dual use of photovoltaics and agriculture through elevated glass-glass solar modules. This enables the farmer to cushion the effects of climate change, increase crop yields through higher-value crops and at the same time produce electricity himself. For many years, SUNfarming Group AG has been cooperating with the Institute for Plant Sciences at the Jülich Research Centre, both at the Jülich site and abroad, to research the development of different types of plants under the modules. In addition, the resulting contribution to the additional water supply of plants and soils is being investigated in order to be able to evaluate the influence gained from these innovative systems for plant production in climate change.

In a cooperative project between the Jülich Research Centre and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), SUNfarming was commissioned in 2021 to develop two new types of system and implement them at the newly developing Morschenich-Alt development site near Jülich. The first is a further development of the so-called SUNfarming Food & Energy System type with a higher clearance height of over 2.50 m and greater post spacing, which also enables the use of larger agricultural machines. The other is a so-called SUNfarming Food & Energy Tracking System as a special design with modules that track the position of the sun to increase yields and a total height of more than 6 m and a clearance height of 4 m. The latter is used to research different shading systems. The latter is used to research different shading scenarios for the plants as well as more efficient rainwater management to make crop cultivation more climate-sensitive.

After a development period of just under 9 months, the SUNfarming Group, known for its technical development services, was able to install the entire facility in Morschenich-Alt at the end of 2021. From completion in February 2022, the facilities will not only provide the framework for comprehensive research work on all aspects of plant cultivation in agri-solar systems, but will also produce approx. 300,000 kWh of solar energy per year, which, among other things, will supply the research site with sustainably generated energy and thus avoid the emission of over 140 t of greenhouse gas per year. SUNfarming Group AG has also founded SUNfarming West GmbH at the Heinsberg site in 2021 to expand its business activities in North Rhine-Westphalia and the neighbouring Benelux countries.

"We have already been working successfully with the Jülich Research Centre for many years, especially in the field of agri-photovoltaic systems," explains David Morr, Head of Department for Food & Energy Projects at SUNfarming. "In this cooperation project between the plant scientists from the Jülich Research Centre and Fraunhofer ISE, we were able to contribute our high level of technical development expertise in the agri-solar sector, which we have acquired over many years in our own research and innovation park at the Rathenow site in Brandenburg. Based on the requirements of our clients, we were thus able to construct two food & energy plant types for Morschenich-Alt, which practically demonstrate new solutions for multiple land use, with regard to the production of solar energy as well as the cultivation possibilities for berry fruits, medicinal, oil and fibre plants under changing climatic conditions," says David Morr.

Only about 20 km away from Morschenich-Alt, the first 5 megawatt SUNfarming eco-solar plant is currently under construction on a former gravel pit in Heinsberg. This plant is also the first of its kind in the Rhineland and is expected to be connected to the grid in April 2022. Further projects in the Heinsberg district are already being planned.

Contact:
SUNfarming West GmbH
Am Vossenweg 2
52525 Heinsberg
Deutschland

Edith Brasche
Mobil: +49 152 536 169 93
e.brasche@sunfarming.de

Igor Hensing
Mobil: +49 172 214 3827
Tel.: +49 (0) 2452 / 988 786
i.hensing@sunfarming.de

BioökonomieREVIER

Fraunhofer

SUNfarming is acquiring further ready-to-build photovoltaic projects with secured tariffs in December 2021 - the largest portfolio of 37 MWp consists of 39 individual projects that secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the auction in June 2021. The two other acquisitions with 16 MW and 7 MW are also solar projects that received a 15-year CfD.
SUNfarming has already been able to secure the construction phase financing for all projects in order to ensure that the projects can be implemented in a timely manner. In some cases, SUNfarming was able to draw on its existing interim financing line of EUR 35 million or expand the financing framework with existing partners. For the largest acquisition, SUNfarming used the credit of a new partner. This challenging transaction was completed in less than 6 weeks.
"Thanks to a good and professional cooperation with our advisors, we were able to acquire three portfolios from different sellers in December 2021 alone, while securing financing from three different capital providers. We would like to thank our existing and also new financing partners for their trust and look forward to realising the projects in 2022," Anna Pilarczyk-Naprawski, Managing Director Poland of SUNfarming Group, is pleased to announce.
"2021 was one of the most successful years in our company's history. Especially our Polish business is booming. We entered the market about 6 years ago and are happy to see that the hard work of the last years is bearing fruit. With the latest acquisitions, our portfolio has grown to almost 145 MWp and the target of 200 MWp by 2023 is now within reach," continues Martin Tauschke, Managing Director and co-partner of the SUNfarming Group.

SUNfarming press release published in PV Magazin (German)

With the two concepts "Eco-Solar" and "Agri-Solar", SUNfarming has set the course for project planning for solar parks on former agricultural land in 2021. "With our dual-use concept for open-space plants, we can significantly expand the biodiversity of the land in addition to producing green electricity," says SUNfarming Group CEO Thies Schrum.

The SUNfarming Eco- and Agri-Solar Systems have clear unique selling points due to bifacial glass-glass modules, an elevated substructure and a specifically developed rainwater distribution system. The dual-use concepts offered have been refined for years in some cases with sheep, bee and poultry farming (eco-solar) as well as vegetable and medicinal herb cultivation (agri-solar). "We have further developed our Food&Energy system from abroad over the years and adapted it to the German market and have thus not only created a space under the modules, but also very concrete concepts whose feasibility we have already proven. This is a huge advantage," continues Thies Schrum, CEO of the SUNfarming Group.

SUNfarming already has several hundred hectares of eco- and agri-solar plants in approval procedures in Germany and plans to roll out the concept further. "We want to make a decisive contribution to the energy transition with this and see ourselves very well positioned to do so," concludes Schrum.

This year, two further research projects were realised in Rathenow. The Jülich Research Centre analysed the plant growth of various ornamental plant species in different shaded areas. As a second research project, plant physiological parameters were investigated in a scientific set-up. The results are currently being evaluated by the Jülich Research Centre and will be published at a later date.
Two other ongoing research projects of SUNfarming are the fertiliser concentrate production from the liquid fermentation residues of the biogas plant in combination with plant production in the Food & Energy plant and the solar module cooling combined with the reuse of the heat gained for plant cultivation. The results will be published in 2022.

National and international representatives from business and politics show great interest in the forward-looking research projects and have regularly visited the Rathenow Research and Innovation Centre to learn about the projects and further planning during plant tours led by our expert staff. Among others, the Minister of Economics of Brandenburg and the Ambassador of Panama and many agricultural interest groups visited us.

The previous SUNfarming research results of the Agri-Solar plant in Rathenow show that solar energy combined with food production and valuable herbs is an ecologically highly topical issue for the coming years. Our excellent results show that valuable medicinal herbs and regionally produced vegetables can be successfully grown in our SUNfarming Agri-Solar facilities, even on sandy soils.