The solar plant was built with 25,600 panels.
Image: Wien Energie
From pv magazine Germany
German project developer Maxsolar has completed an 11.5 MW photovoltaic, ground-mounted system on a former gravel dump in Austria.
The owner of the facility is the country’s largest power provider Wien Energie, which is itself owned by the City of Vienna.
The plant is relying on 25,600 modules installed on an area of 12.5 hectares, including 400 vertically mounted bifacial modules. It is expected to generate around 12 GWh per year, which would be enough to supply almost 5,000 households with power.
Between the modules, 150 Jura sheep will replace the mechanical grass cutters as walking lawnmowers between April and October. This avoids the development of dust and stone chips, which can occur with conventional mowing. In addition, the soil is protected and fertilized in a natural way, which benefits the biodiversity of the photovoltaic power plant.
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The sheep, in turn, benefit from photovoltaics, as the modules protect them from sun and rain. “We are advancing climate protection in the city and are showing that ground-mounted systems can also be optimally designed for the environment and nature,” explained Michael Strebl, managing director of Wien Energie. “One of the central questions of the energy transition is how the expansion of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems has the most positive effect on environmental protection, agriculture and nature conservation,” added Maxsolar representative Thomas Hager.
Wien Energie announced in 2018 a plan to invest around €100 million in solar and €15 million in charging stations for electric vehicles.
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Source: pv magazine
