Power company ENBW has announced the construction of what will be Germany's largest solar energy park. What's more: the firm is doing this without any help at all from state subsidies. 

The park will occupy a 164-hectare plot of land 30 kilometers from Berlin and contain 465,000 solar modules. It will generate more than 180 megawatts of power, enough to supply 50,000 households with electricity. The facility should go operational in 2020 and will help ENBW achieve its target for that year of 40 percent renewables. And this despite Germany's northern European climate, which by no means guarantees that every day will be sunny.

Explaining the company's decision not to apply for state financial help, ENBW Technology Chairman Hans-Josef Zimmer said, "We're convinced that solar parks like this can be run profitably without subsidies, but only if the EEG continues to mandate: solar first!"

Germany's EEG - or Renewable Energy Sources Act - stipulates that renewably produced power be fed into the grid before that generated by other sources.

"This shows that solar energy is absolutely competitive, especially as the previous cap on installed capacity of 52 gigawatts peak was recently revoked," says Germany Trade & Invest solar energy expert Tobias Rothacher. "That opens up the market for further large-scale projects like this in Germany."

Germany Trade & Invest | www.gtai.com