On the 12th March 2012, the 2010 and 2011 global EPC leader BELECTRIC officially inaugurated one of the largest thin-film solar power plants in Europe located in Alt Daber near the city of Wittstock. Guests included Katherina Reiche, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, and Jörg Gehrmann, mayor of the city of Wittstock (Dosse). Martin Zembsch, Chief Sales Officer of BELECTRIC Solarkraftwerke GmbH, highlighted the short construction period of just seven months and expressed his gratitude to the employees for their above-average commitment: "We installed up to 80,000 modules a week. Without our BELECTRIC employees, who worked in the pouring rain and in the burning sun, we would never have been able to complete the power plant in record time."
Martin Zembsch also underscored the excellent cooperation between the city of Wittstock, the district, the authorities and the investor: "Not half a year passed between the decision to develop on 16 December 2010 and the issue of the planning permission on 12 May 2011. I've never known it to be processed so quickly." The plant covers 133 hectares and, since the end of 2011, has produced over 71,000 MWh of environmentally friendly power which can be used to decentrally supply almost 19,000 four-person households in Wittstock and the surrounding area. Prior to the construction, BELECTRIC invested several million euros in complex substrate checks and the removal of warfare material. According to Jörg Gehrmann, that's not the only reason why the trust placed in BELECTRIC paid off. If the project had not been constructed, the general public would have had to bear the costs. Martin Zembsch took the opportunity to mention one point as a political statement directed at the national government in Berlin on the system relevance of ground-mounted solar power plants: "We all agree that the subsidies must be reduced in order to drive market integration forward. However, it is not clear as to why the expansion of ground-mounted solar power plants - which in fact stabilize the network - should be restricted by a 10 megawatt limit. This affects the most economical segment that has made the largest contribution to limiting the EEG surcharge thus far. Thanks to modern inverter technology, ground-mounted solar power plants are able to provide reactive power control and compensate for voltage fluctuations in the network. This allows for a significant increase in the capacity of the existing networks, resulting in considerable savings in the predicted grid development that is necessary for the integration of renewable energy into the grid. This would lead to a significant consumer cost reduction, if it has political support. Furthermore, reasonable and constitutional transfer deadlines are required for projects that are currently being developed or under construction. The solar power plant in Alt Daber is a good example that the current deadline of 30 June 2012 is unacceptable. It can only conform to the constitution if we also have the technology at our disposal to implement the projects. The planned transfer deadline conflicts with the provisions of building legislation, meaning that this must be extended to 31 December 2012 at the very earliest."
Katherina Reiche, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, travelled from Berlin to attend the ceremony and was very pleased to be given the honour of inaugurating yet another solar power plant in Brandenburg. She alluded to the State's trendsetting role: over the past few years, great progress has been made in Brandenburg when it comes to renewable energy. Ms Reiche expressed her certainty that further power plants - especially similar plants with modern inverter and storage technology - would follow in the future, in spite of reduced subsidies.
Picture caption: The solar power plant in Alt Daber near Wittstock was constructed on the site of a former Soviet airforce base. The decentral power plant covers an area equivalent to over 162 football pitches and provides up to 19,000 four-person households with solar power.
Martin Zembsch also underscored the excellent cooperation between the city of Wittstock, the district, the authorities and the investor: "Not half a year passed between the decision to develop on 16 December 2010 and the issue of the planning permission on 12 May 2011. I've never known it to be processed so quickly." The plant covers 133 hectares and, since the end of 2011, has produced over 71,000 MWh of environmentally friendly power which can be used to decentrally supply almost 19,000 four-person households in Wittstock and the surrounding area. Prior to the construction, BELECTRIC invested several million euros in complex substrate checks and the removal of warfare material. According to Jörg Gehrmann, that's not the only reason why the trust placed in BELECTRIC paid off. If the project had not been constructed, the general public would have had to bear the costs. Martin Zembsch took the opportunity to mention one point as a political statement directed at the national government in Berlin on the system relevance of ground-mounted solar power plants: "We all agree that the subsidies must be reduced in order to drive market integration forward. However, it is not clear as to why the expansion of ground-mounted solar power plants - which in fact stabilize the network - should be restricted by a 10 megawatt limit. This affects the most economical segment that has made the largest contribution to limiting the EEG surcharge thus far. Thanks to modern inverter technology, ground-mounted solar power plants are able to provide reactive power control and compensate for voltage fluctuations in the network. This allows for a significant increase in the capacity of the existing networks, resulting in considerable savings in the predicted grid development that is necessary for the integration of renewable energy into the grid. This would lead to a significant consumer cost reduction, if it has political support. Furthermore, reasonable and constitutional transfer deadlines are required for projects that are currently being developed or under construction. The solar power plant in Alt Daber is a good example that the current deadline of 30 June 2012 is unacceptable. It can only conform to the constitution if we also have the technology at our disposal to implement the projects. The planned transfer deadline conflicts with the provisions of building legislation, meaning that this must be extended to 31 December 2012 at the very earliest."
Katherina Reiche, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, travelled from Berlin to attend the ceremony and was very pleased to be given the honour of inaugurating yet another solar power plant in Brandenburg. She alluded to the State's trendsetting role: over the past few years, great progress has been made in Brandenburg when it comes to renewable energy. Ms Reiche expressed her certainty that further power plants - especially similar plants with modern inverter and storage technology - would follow in the future, in spite of reduced subsidies.
Picture caption: The solar power plant in Alt Daber near Wittstock was constructed on the site of a former Soviet airforce base. The decentral power plant covers an area equivalent to over 162 football pitches and provides up to 19,000 four-person households with solar power.
