Solar park construction begins at historic German lignite mine

Renewables developer RP Global has announced that construction work has started on the Harbke solar park located in one of Germany's oldest lignite mining areas.

The area is located on the border between Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony on the former Wulfersdorf spoil tip in the district of Börde.

The location of the project is home to two existing power lines, which means the electricity generated can be fed into the grid without the need for constructing additional power lines.

In its first phase, the Harbke PV plant will reach a capacity of 50MWp.

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Lignite has been mined in Harbke for decades. After the Second World War, explains RP Global in a release, the open-cast mine was divided and used as a source of energy on both sides of the East-West German border.

This area, also called the 'death strip' or Kolonnenweg, is a listed historical monument. For this reason, precautions will be taken to preserve the historical elements when delivering project components to the construction site.

The district of Börde promotes the expansion of solar power. The Harbke PV plant is therefore considered a most significant energy projects in the area, able to contribute to the municipality's 2030 sustainability objectives.

The project is being delivered in collaboration with EPC MaxSolar.

In 2021, RP Global started working with local developers and partners in Germany to establish a pipeline of mainly solar photovoltaic projects. Currently, the company is advancing a development pipeline exceeding 14GWp.