The Austrian developer and operator of green energy plants Püspök, based in Nickelsdorf in Burgenland, has launched a photovoltaic offensive. This includes a solar park, which the company has now put into operation in Nickelsdorf. The 13-hectare agri-PV plant not only combines agriculture with solar power production. The plant is also combined with the existing Heidäcker Mönchhof wind farm.
Storage unit to follow next year
Püspök has thus built its first hybrid power plant, combining wind power and photovoltaics. The advantage: wind power and photovoltaics complement perfectly each other in the generating structure. They can feed into the grid via one grid connection point and thus better utilise the grid capacities. To perfect this further, Püspök will be adding an electricity storage system to the hybrid power plant in the coming year. The permit for the large battery storage unit has already been granted.
Sheep graze the area
The recently installed 23,000 solar modules have a total output of 14 megawatts. The agricultural utilisation is 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. ‘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 is the kick-off for the photovoltaic offensive that Püspök is launching. It provides for 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. Commissioning of this plant is planned for this year.
EWS: Financing of agri-PV project by citizens completed within two weeks
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 special issue on the solar energy transition in agriculture free of charge after registering. (su)
