Regensburg Now Receives Green Energy from Lappersdorf, Powering 2,000 Homes
Solar Park Benhof in Lappersdorf Now Operated by Windpower, Delivering Power to 2,000 Households
A solar park delivering energy to more than 2,000 households is now operational in Lappersdorf, Germany. The Solar Park Benhof, which took over a decade to come to fruition due to changes in local energy supplier strategies, is now managed by Windpower GmbH.
The solar park, located near the A93 with a panoramic view of Benhof, is capable of generating nearly 5.7 megawatts of power. This increase in renewable energy production in Lappersdorf exceeds the capacity of all previously installed photovoltaic plants in the municipality by more than 40%. On sunny days, excess power generated during lunch hours is transmitted to energy-hungry Regensburg via the network.
Four REWAG Leaders Involved in Project Development
The conception of a solar park on open land involved numerous discussions and concept negotiations with four different heads of REWAG, the local energy supplier initially involved in the project. However, the hasty shifts in leadership at REWAG resulted in a prolonged project development period.
Due to changes in REWAG's solar energy strategy, Robert Greb, the company's current CEO, abandoned the previously planned strategy and exited the project. Frustrated by REWAG's withdrawal, farmer Franz Habenschaden of Benhof sought a new partner in Regensburg Windpower GmbH.
Windpower Taking Over Benhof Project
Following REWAG's withdrawal, Windpower swiftly advanced the project. Over several weeks in October 2024, steel supports were driven into the ground, rails and lines installed, and a transformer station was added. In total, 9,256 solar modules were deployed on supporting rails, with a specialized company laying a one-kilometer-long connection line into adjacent properties for the solar power to flow into the REWAG network.
The final step, connecting to a medium-voltage power pole, is still pending but will be addressed soon. Armin Schmid, Windpower's PV manager, estimates that the solar park will generate around six million kilowatt-hours of regionally produced renewable energy annually. This amount of electricity can meet the yearly power demand of roughly 2,000 households with typical annual consumption of 3,000 kilowatt-hours.
Battery Storage System to Mitigate Solar Peaks in Grid
To prevent grid overloads caused by solar peak energy, Windpower plans to integrate a large battery storage system with the Benhof solar park. This storage system will temporarily store solar energy during periods of high output and feed it back into the grid during times of demand. The estimated investment for the Benhof open-space facility is around three million euros, with the Regensburg Liga Bank serving as a project partner.
Windpower GmbH, a company committed to renewable energy since 1995, has a current solar power capacity of approximately 60 megawatts. The company expects the Benhof solar park to increase its capacity by almost ten percent. Schmid anticipates the total installed capacity of Windpower's entire power plant park to be around 160 megawatts, with an average annual output of green electricity from sun and wind at 270 million kilowatt hours.
Solar Park Outperforms Biomass in Land Usage Efficiency
The open-space modules installed at the Benhof solar park are bifacial, producing electricity not just on their front but also on the rear side. Compared to the first installations, today's solar parks generate almost twice as much electricity per hectare of land. Furthermore, solar parks use less land to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity than biogas from monocultures.
The primary advantage of biogas is its potential for storage throughout the year and minimal environmental impact. Despite the project's lengthy development period, Franz Habenschaden sees the solar park as a positive contribution to Germany's Energy Transition, with lush grass grown for sheep grazing since the seeds were sown in 2022.
The Solar Park Benhof, now managed by Windpower GmbH, intends to integrate a large battery storage system to mitigate solar peaks in the grid and efficiently store excess energy for later use. This investment, estimated at around three million euros, is anticipated to increase the renewable energy capacity of Windpower by almost ten percent.
Once the final step of connecting to a medium-voltage power pole is addressed, the Benhof solar park will generate about six million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually, sufficient to meet the yearly power demand of approximately 2,000 households, as it delivers power to more households than before.
