Genuine agrivoltaics from the leading system developer and operator

SUNfarming Agri-Solar animal welfare systems.

Peter Schrum from Schleswig-Holstein and Martin Tauschke from Brandenburg founded the solar company SUNfarming in Erkner near Berlin in 2004. With their own system developers, steel constructors and engineers, SUNfarming developed foundation systems, substructures and solar module qualities, which are co-labelled for SUNfarming and, as glass-glass modules, are characterised above all are also characterised by the highest hail and hurricane resistance. In the first few years, the main focus was on roof photovoltaic plants, conversion areas and landfill sites with PV systems were realised in Germany, the agricultural economist Peter Schrum, in view of the damage caused by climate change in Africa and the upcoming waves of refugees travelling to Europe about a food & energy plant in Africa. These are now known as Agri-PV systems. In 2012, SUNfarming built the first plant on the African on the African continent. Since then it has been supporting training in organic farming and provides people with food security and renewable energy. Fruit, vegetables and fruit, vegetables and medicinal herbs.

Since then, SUNfarming has been researching and optimising the use of agri-PV systems with crop cultivation and animal husbandry and is the only provider in the agri PV market has developed a rainwater management system under the system, which prevents soil erosion avoids soil erosion and promotes vegetation by distributing rainwater over a wide area. The first solar package in 2021 made it possible to introduce the Agri-PV concepts, which have now been tried and tested for more than ten years, to the German market. Various types of fruit and vegetables are planted under the modules, protected from the weather; Suckler cows, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and fallow deer find shelter from the rain and sun. The SUNfarming flowering meadows for more biodiversity are home to many native insect species.

For farmers and investors, the latest legislation offers opportunities in the field of agri-solar. One Agri-PVA can be installed per farm or farmstead. Privileged according to §35 BauGB, para. 1, no. 9 and DIN SPEC 91434 for animal welfare and organic cultivation of fruit and vegetables. The agricultural use for commercial purposes under the facility must be proven. ‘In addition to the generation of renewable energy and climate protection, we want to use our concept, we want to ensure that the land on which electricity is generated can continue to be used for agricultural purposes,’ explains Peter Schrum. ‘Farmers should keep one hundred per cent of their farmland and not lose it to the large energy producers, who are squeezing them out with high lease payments for ground-mounted systems.’

In addition aspects of nature conservation must be taken into account, areas must not be sealed and broad public acceptance must be achieved. ‘SUNfarming Agri-PVA are designed for a service life of at least 30 years and are fixed horizontally at a minimum height of 2.10 metres. With a south-facing orientation of 15 degrees, we achieve between 1.1 and 1.3 MW per hectare of agricultural land in Germany, depending on the location,’ explains Martin Tauschke, co-founder of SUNfarming. ‘Land under our systems retains its agricultural status and therefore remains an agricultural asset for property tax and inheritance tax purposes unchanged in agricultural assets.’

The largest SUNfarming Agri-PVAs will be will be built from autumn 2024 in the eastern German federal states, where agricultural land is large and land values are often low, and others in western and southern German regions. The SUNfarming management is optimistic about the future thanks to the new features of Solar Package I and the increase in the maximum bid value for Agri-PVA in accordance with DIN SPEC to 9.5 ct/kWh. ‘On agricultural land, there can be no other solution than an Agri-PV system in accordance with DIN SPEC if the land is to be preserved sustainably for agriculture and regional value creation,’ says Edith Seemann, Managing Director Project Development. SUNfarming sees further potential for Agri-PV systems in Germany
for more than 800,000 hectares of agricultural land, i.e. almost five per cent of agricultural land in Germany.

For SUNfarming, the 20th anniversary marks a milestone in the development towards the combined utilisation of agrivoltaic systems with battery storage, biogas plants for municipal heat heat supply and energy storage, as well as Agri-PV-wind energy combinations for the production of green hydrogen.

Ursula Eckmann
The graduate engineer is project manager at SUNfarming

About SUNfarming
SUNfarming is now developing a plant volume of more than 5 GW of Agri-PV plants in
agri-PV systems in Germany and employs over 150 people nationwide. In 2021 and 2022, the company was further strengthened by the new managing directors Thies Schrum and Edith Seemann. SUNfarming has received several internationally for its holistic, sustainable solar concepts (food, energy, training).

In 2023, Peter Schrum was honoured for his services to international sustainability projects for food security, support for people in developing countries and his Food & Energy concept with the Federal Cross of Merit. At the company's own research and development centre in Rathenow near Berlin, SUNfarming presents the latest solutions and concepts for Agri-PV with animal husbandry and crop production as well as biodiversity PV and peatland PV to several thousand visitors and interested citizens/farmers/municipal decision-makers every year.
https://sunfarming.de/geschaeftsbereich/agri-und-oeko-solaranlagen