With about 141 000 solar modules, the farms will generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 27 700 German households with climate-friendly electricity. The project sites in the Rhenish region lie to the west and east of the motorway between the towns of Bedburg and Jüchen and are on re-cultivated land at the Garzweiler opencast mine. The new photovoltaic panels are expected to start supplying electricity from the end of 2025.

Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, commented: “We are making every effort to drive forward the expansion of our solar portfolio and are making increasing use of locations alongside motorways. These projects not only benefit from faster approval processes, but in most cases also enjoy a much higher level of public acceptance. Our new solar plants along the A44n could thus serve as a role model for further projects in the region and beyond.”

Dr Lars Kulik, CTO Lignite at RWE Power, added: “The solar projects along the A44n emphasise that structural change and the expansion of renewables in the Rhenish mining area are moving forward at a strong pace. There is plenty of space in and around our opencast mines that we are also using for solar projects. The new plants are taking shape on re-cultivated land and they are connected via the grid infrastructure at Garzweiler opencast mine. The employees of RWE Power also contribute their knowledge and experience to support the construction and subsequent operation of the solar plants. That means we are creating further prospects for our co-workers here in the region.”

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/15052025/rwe-builds-large-scale-solar-farms-on-re-cultivated-land-in-germany/