PRESS RELEASE
Dillingen, 19.07.2024
Yesterday, Thursday, Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir visited the Next2Sun Agri-Solarpark in the Donaueschingen district of Aasen. The visit marked the end of his visit to the Baar region, during which he toured three projects in the fields of nature conservation, agriculture and climate protection at the invitation of the Baden Agricultural Association (BLHV) and the State Nature Conservation Association (LNV).
The agri-solar park in Aasen, which was commissioned in 2020 as the largest Agri-PV plant in Europe at the time, covers an area of around 14 hectares. With around 11,000 bifacial (active on both sides) solar modules mounted on 5,800 rack elements, the plant has an output of 4.1 megawatts peak and generates around 4,850 MWh of energy per year. This amount covers the electricity needs of around 1,400 households.
The innovative vertical Agri-PV system from Next2Sun makes it possible to harvest both energy and grain on the same area. The modules are positioned vertically and at a suitable distance from each other so that the land can continue to be farmed as usual with large agricultural machinery. Farmers’ president Bernhard Bolkart praised this solution and emphasized that the energy transition can be driven forward in this way without depriving agriculture of essential land.
Next2Sun CEO Heiko Hildebrandt explained the vertical Next2Sun Agri-PV system to the visitors and emphasized its particular importance for an accelerated energy transition: “Further expansion with conventional photovoltaics increases the temporary oversupply and puts a strain on scarce grid capacities. With the Next2Sun systems, we can also generate electricity in the morning and evening hours and thus put the energy transition on a broader footing – we are stabilizing PV electricity production and thus utilizing the electricity grids more evenly.”
The visit by the Federal Minister of Agriculture underlines the importance of such innovative projects, which contribute to sustainable energy production and support agriculture.
Image 1: Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir visiting the Next2Sun Agri-Solarpark Donaueschingen Aasen (from left to right: Klaus Hall (farmer), Bernhard Bolkart (President BLHV), Cem Özdemir (Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture), Dr. Gerhard Bronner (Chairman LNV), Heiko Hildebrandt (CEO Next2Sun AG)
