Hamburg-based solar park developer and operator ENERPARC, together with Joschka Knuth, Schleswig-Holstein's State Secretary in the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment, and Nature, and Lisa Hebenstreit, Managing Director of Network Technology at Schleswig-Holstein Netz, has officially inaugurated the Eggebek solar cluster. Since 2021, a solar cluster with a total capacity of 80 MWp has been built on the site of the former NATO airport, covering around 70 hectares, with a further section with 17 MWp already under construction.
ENERPARC previously carried out extensive exploratory and clearance work on the site, which was historically contaminated with munitions. ENERPARC has thus not only laid the foundations for solar power generation, but also for sustainable ecological development: today, sheep graze between the rows of modules and the soil can be renaturalized over the coming decades.
Another special feature of the project is that ENERPARC feeds 4.5 MWp directly into the customer system of GPC Gewerbepark Carstensen GmbH via a direct wire connection. As a private grid operator, GPC supplies local businesses with solar power. The first companies have already signed power purchase agreements. Another company is even considering relocating its headquarters there.
Joschka Knuth, State Secretary for Energy Transition and Climate Protection in Schleswig-Holstein: "The energy transition is a top priority for us in the north. We want to become the first climate-neutral industrialized country by 2040. This can only be achieved with courageous companies that make the energy transition a reality. Here in Eggebek, many things are being thought through together: climate and resource protection, biodiversity, and the economy. That is exactly what the term sustainability means. The Eggebek solar park and its surroundings act as magnets for further developments and continue to radiate a sense of the future beyond Eggebek."
The solar power generated outside Carstensens' customer facility flows into the public grid via the substation in Schobüll. ENERPARC also invested in and built this substation. The cluster can already cover the needs of more than 21,000 four-person households. With the expansion currently under construction, an additional 5,000 households can be supplied.
A battery storage system developed by ENERPARC and the Lower Saxony start-up NAEXT is used to supply the plant with night-time electricity. The Quadragon is the size of a 10-foot container and can be easily expanded in a modular fashion. The storage system uses second-life car batteries with a total capacity of 600 kilowatt hours to store solar power.
Lisa Hebenstreit, Managing Director of Network Technology at Schleswig-Holstein Netz: "Around 12,500 megawatts of installed capacity from renewable energies are connected to the Schleswig-Holstein Netz grid. With over 530 MW of PV systems connected to our grid, ENERPARC is making a significant contribution to the energy transition – as is the Eggebek project. As SH Netz, we value the long-standing, constructive cooperation with ENERPARC and look forward to continuing this successful partnership."
Stefan Müller, COO of ENERPARC AG: "Eggebek stands for what the energy transition needs: courage to break new ground, flexible, demand-oriented power supply, and a clear commitment to renewable energies on the part of all those involved. Projects like this not only contribute to the energy transition, but also create direct added value for local communities and businesses."
About ENERPARC:
The internationally active specialist for solar power plants in the megawatt segment is active as a developer, builder, operator, and investor of large-scale solar power plants. Founded in Hamburg in 2008, the unlisted company now employs over 600 people and, in addition to its core market in Germany, is also active in Spain, France, Portugal, India, and Australia. In recent years, ENERPARC has successfully connected more than 650 solar plants with a capacity of over 4,500 MW to the grid worldwide – around 3,500 MW of which are its own solar power plants – and has become one of the largest independent producers of solar energy in Europe. By 2030, ENERPARC aims to develop a total of 10 GW of PV plants worldwide for its own portfolio and a further 10 GW for third-party solar portfolios.