LEAG-GigawattFactory expands by adding another 17 MWp solar park
Another step for the future green power supply of central Germany: In Böhlen, Saxony, another LEAG PV project was completed on the site of a former and partially recultivated industrial settling plant near the Lippendorf power plant. LEAG developed and implemented the 17-megawatt solar park together with its strategic partner EP New Energies GmbH (EPNE). Thorsten Kramer, LEAG CEO: "We are delighted that the site of the former IAA Böhlen is being put to a particularly sustainable use. With the commissioning, we are contributing to the expansion of the green power supply in central Germany. This is the basis for accelerated development of the region in the green hydrogen economy. The further expansion of green power generation as well as hydrogen and storage technologies is an important requirement for the preservation of economic power, for economic growth and the establishment of new industrial jobs."
Kramer emphasised that a crucial condition for a successful transformation is that large power plant and industrial sites in Lusatia and central Germany are connected to the hydrogen core network and that the approval procedures for renewable energy plants are significantly simplified and accelerated. LEAG is planning to build new flexible H2-capable power plants or pure hydrogen power plants at its power plant sites - including the Lippendorf power plant in the south of Leipzig. The total capacity of these power plants is expected to be up to 4.5 GW by 2040. "Together with the up to 14 GW of green power generation that we want to make available by 2040, this can replace the power generation capacity of today's lignite power plant in Lusatia and central Germany," says Kramer.
30,000 modules were installed for the PV park Böhlen, which will supply around 6,000 households with green electricity. The 14-hectare area on which the PV plant was built is the site of a former industrial settling plant for power plant ash, which is located directly on the site of a former open-cast mine. The re-use of former industrial land, such as post-mining land or old power plant sites, is an essential part of the LEAG GigawattFactory, as it enables the expansion of renewable energies in a way that is both conflict-free and sustainable.
Dominique Guillou, Managing Director of the project developer EP New Energies GmbH, emphasised the completion as a cornerstone of the transformation of the opencast mining regions into climate-neutral energy landscapes: "With the PV park Böhlen and our other multi-megawatt solar and wind projects in advanced development, we are bringing the necessary power for the GigawattFactory. In total, we have already submitted more than one gigawatt of LEAG's project potential to approval procedures." Guillou also emphasised the extensive compensatory measures that have been implemented in Böhlen: " Special attention has been paid to the protection of species. For example, certain areas were excluded from the construction work to protect the native sand lizard. At the same time, flowering strips, natural hiding places made of field stones and dead wood as well as numerous nesting boxes were created as ecological habitats to increase biodiversity.”
Your contact for further information:
Steffen Herrmann, LEAG, Press Officer
Telefon 0172/1655094, steffen.herrmann@leag.de
Margarita Schulz, EPNE, Team Lead Communications
Telefon 0172/2048393, margarita.schulz@epne.de
