Located by the A2 Motorway, the community solar installation will comprise 2022 solar panels and be powered by SolarEdge’s DC-optimised inverter technology. Solar energy will be fed into the grid and distributed directly to residents, with CO₂ emission-savings of approximately 360 tpy forecasted. Already under construction, the installation is expected to be completed in 1Q25, with local installer Energiepark Brandenburg contracted to install, operate and maintain the PV system.

Gregor Wölm, Representative of Solarstrom Grebs GbR, commented: “We’re excited to realise this project as the solar system has been designed in such a way that it can supply large parts of the village with renewable energy in the summer months, without placing a burden on the grid. Particularly as this redundant land sits directly alongside the motorway, it is perfectly suited for installing a solar system. We are forecasting very high yields from the system, with the option to add a storage system in the future. Thank you to Energiepark Brandenburg and SolarEdge for designing and optimising the energy yield of the system.”

According to Thomas Wetzel, Managing Director of solar specialist Energiepark Brandenburg, the key to securing the economic viability of this project for the operator was ensuring high energy yields and reducing operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. As a result, Wetzel specified SolarEdge’s DC-optimised inverter, with SolarEdge Power Optimisers attached to the underside of every pair of solar panels. Unlike traditional string inverters, should one solar panel be underperforming due to soiling or shading (module mismatch), then the rest of the solar array will not be impacted, ensuring maximum energy yields continue.

Wetzel added: “When we received the brief, we knew that we could only deliver such high energy yields in a relatively small area with SolarEdge Power Optimisers. In our experience, SolarEdge’s technology generates up to 8% more energy than non-optimised inverters – over the system’s lifetime that’s a significant advantage for our customers – also commercially. To maximise the yield from the available land space, we had to design string lengths of varying sizes and reduce the spacing between each row of modules to the absolute minimum of 1.5 m. As a result, only half the typical cable lengths are now required, which leads to further significant cost savings. This level of design flexibility is simply not available with conventional solar systems.”

To reduce operation and maintenance costs, SolarEdge Power Optimisers placed on each pair of solar panels allow Energiepark Brandenburg to closely monitor performance of individual panels remotely. Should one be underperforming, this allows the maintenance team to immediately pinpoint and remote troubleshoot the individual panel affected – saving maintenance time and cost, while reducing energy losses for the customer.

Robert Bruchner, Head of Sales and Marketing for Germany at SolarEdge, concluded: “We’re delighted to support this project with our power optimisation technology, helping to produce more power to better support the grid, bring homeowners lower cost energy, and deliver more favourable economics for investors. As Germany continues its transition to Net Zero, community solar initiatives like these will play an important role in creating more distributed energy networks to ensure both grid operators and homeowners benefit alike.”

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global’s Autumn 2024 issue

Dive into the latest renewable energy insights in the Autumn issue of Energy Global, out now! The issue starts with an insightful guest comment from Cristiano Spillati, Managing Director at Limes Renewable Energy where he discusses the need for European renewable energy suppliers to accelerate the rate of the energy transition. This is followed by a regional report from Cornwall Insights on the battery energy storage industry in Australia. This issue explores key topics including offshore wind subsea cables, offshore wind support vessels, digitalisation, wind turbine components, and more!