The Austrian developer and operator of green energy plants, Püspök, based in Nickelsdorf, Burgenland, has launched a photovoltaic offensive. This includes the solar park the company has now brought online in its home district. The 13-hectare agri-PV installation combines agriculture with solar energy production and is also connected to the existing Heidäcker Mönchhof wind farm.
Storage unit to follow next year
With this, Püspök has built its first hybrid power plant that combines wind power and photovoltaics, an approach in which the two sources complement each other well in terms of generation. They can feed into the grid via a single connection point, making better use of grid capacity. To take this a step further, Püspök will add an electricity storage system to the hybrid plant next year, for which the permit has already been granted.
Sheep graze the area
The recently installed 23,000 solar modules have a total output of 14 megawatts, with agricultural use based on grazing the area with sheep. “The combination of wind power, photovoltaics and battery storage technologies makes the Nickelsdorf project a pioneering energy transition project in Austria,” emphasises Managing Director Lukas Püspök, adding that “the simultaneous use of the land for organic farming shows that renewable energy, nature conservation and agriculture harmonise.”
Energy Decentral: Agri-PV has great growth potential
Next plant is already under construction
The new agri-PV park marks the start of the photovoltaic offensive that Püspök is launching, which includes the construction of further solar parks. The company plans to install an additional 400 megawatts of solar power capacity by 2026, as Lukas Püspök explains. The next plant is already under construction: the Nickelsdorf II solar park is currently being built on an area of 53 hectares and will reach 68 megawatts upon completion, with commissioning planned for this year.
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You can read about how the systems are actually planned and what opportunities and hurdles the combination of photovoltaics, wind power and agriculture entails in our special edition on agriculture. You can download this free special issue on the solar energy transition in agriculture after registering. (su)
