Germany now boasts the largest solar farm in Europe, a massive 605 megawatt (MW) project located near Leipzig. The Witznitz Solar Farm, owned by German investment firm HANSAINVEST Real Assets, has been operational since the end of March and is not state-subsidized.
The developer, MoveOn Energy, plans to expand the solar farm with an additional 45 MW of power, bringing the total to over 1.1 million modules by the summer of 2024. Situated on over 500 hectares of land that was once a brown coal mine, the solar farm will generate clean electricity to power approximately 200,000 households while avoiding 250,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
A long-term power purchase agreement for 600 MW of clean energy generated by the Witznitz Solar Farm has been secured with Shell Energy Europe. Additionally, cycling paths have been built around the site, with HANSAINVEST Real Assets offering up to 10 hectares for agrivoltaics.
The previous titleholder, a 500 MW solar farm in Spain, has now been bumped to the second spot. The Núñez de Balboa project in the Extremadura region was previously Europe’s largest solar farm.
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