Initial Situation

In early 2013, the local council from Nuthe-Urstromtal decided to designate a special PV zone in Lynow, a village within the Federal State of Brandenburg. The decision of the council was unanimous as to which tract of land would be appropriate to allow for PV development. It was decided to designate a location that until 1989 served as a pre-military training center for the Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik (literally Sport and Technology Association) in the former GDR. The center was established for young people in the GDR to obtain mandatory pre-military, sport, and technical equipment training. In 1989, the training center was closed and in the 1990s the buildings served as temporary housing for German emigrants from the former Soviet Union resettling in Germany due to economic difficulties.

The location was eventually abandoned after the 90s and the neglected buildings began to degrade. Because the buildings were empty, illegal waste became dumped here. The site deteriorated into an eyesore along the main road (L73) leading to Lynow and the local citizens welcomed an improvement for the neglected and contaminated grounds.

In April 2014 a plan for a 1,560 kWp PV plant to replace the abandoned buildings was presented to the community by the Nuthe-Urstromtal local council. A private investor, Ka-Energy Solutions GmbH from Berlin, was selected that would invest 1.7 Million Euros in developing the PV project and additionally to serve as the EPC for the solar park and manage daily operations and maintenance after the commissioning.

Before the construction phase, an environmental study was submitted to the planning committee by IDAS Planungsgesellschaft that detailed the impact on local flora and fauna. The study concluded that there were some protected species of bats that had to be considered before building a PV plant at the site. The study proposed measures to mitigate or compensate for the effects on vegetation and habitat at this location.

Project Realisation

The planning committee determined that the best approach to avoid injury to nesting bat habitat in the area would be to avoid any clearing during breeding season and to leave one building at the site with bat houses installed to serve as future nesting areas for these important mammals. A long narrow brick corridor about 2 meters high and 10 meters long was also constructed on the grounds, with the majority of the structure built underground except for a concrete block top and a large opening on one end. The structure was designed to give local bats a clear flight path into protected roosting space.

To compensate for felled trees at the location, many new trees were planted at a local kindergarten in the Lynow area. After these important steps, the construction of the PV plant on the 3.2 hectares by Ka-Energy began in May 2015.

A total of 6,000 solar modules and 30 Delta RPI M50A solar inverters with 50 kW output were installed in the system.

Delta RPI M50A inverters were selected for the system due to their robust and reliable design, perfect for large ground-mounted PV systems. The M50A consists of a high quality aluminum chassis coated with a special finish that makes the inverters very durable and corrosion-resistant. But above all the M50A units feature a 98.6 % peak efficiency which ensures a high yield from the solar array for many years.

The construction phase of Solarpark Oscar-Barnack-Strasse Lynow GmbH by Ka-Energy lasted for a total of 4 months and the commissioning ceremony took place with the Mayor, Ms. Monika Nestler, in attendance on August 31, 2015.

Conclusion

The new solar park is now completed by Ka-Energy and generating an estimated 1,516 MWh electricity annually, enough to power around 400 households in the region. Furthermore, the park is providing annual savings of 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide – a value representing the CO2 emissions of 750 cars on the road.

The project was successful not only in cleaning up a neglected and contaminated locale but also in transforming this blot on the landscape into a clean energy source for several communities. It gives proof that large PV projects can be responsibly planned in order to have minimal impact on local vegetation and habitats, and even to improve the situation when contaminated ground is eliminated.

The cooperation between Delta and Ka-Energy was excellent on this project and they continue to work together on new projects in the expanding Brandenburg solar market.

Delta is always looking for ways to advance their mission to provide innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions. Providing the solar inverters for the Lynow PV plant is a proud example of how rewarding our green mission can be and also demonstrates the benefits both for business and the environment.