Promoting sustainability in rural areas with a solar park
Sun and biogas make a perfect match for sustainability in rural areas. As proof of this, EnviTec Biogas AG has completed its second solar park with the involvement of its shareholders. In Buckow, Brandenburg, the agricultural company Niederer Fläming is producing green energy together with its existing biogas plant and the 65 MW PV park. With the start of operation in early October, it will be purchased at a fixed rate by the energy trading company Axpo and, starting January 1, 2025, by the VW subsidiary PowerCo SE for a period of ten years.
“The 112,788 PV module units installed here can supply enough green energy to power 17,000 households with an annual consumption of 3,800 kWh,” says Markus Pille, Managing Director of EnviTec subsidiary EnviTec Energy GmbH & Co. KG. With the recently signed purchase agreement with PowerCo, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, EnviTec will supply 65 MW annually to the battery cell manufacturer founded in 2022.
Jörg Teichmann, Chief Procurement Officer of PowerCo SE, says: “We want to establish a strong European battery supply chain that also sets new standards in sustainability. Through the purchase agreement concluded with EnviTec and others, we are ensuring that our cell factory in Salzgitter is operated permanently and completely with green energy. At the same time, we are contributing to the further expansion of renewable energies in Europe.”
“We are delighted to have concluded a long-term supply agreement with PowerCo, making us part of the urgently needed energy transition in Germany’s industry,” says Olaf von Lehmden, EnviTec CEO and sole financing shareholder of the solar park. PowerCo is currently building a total of three cell factories with a total volume of up to 200 gigawatt hours per year at three locations: Salzgitter in Germany, Valencia in Spain, and St. Thomas in Canada.
