The RWE Neuland Solar Farm is similar in size to the RWE indeland Solar Farm at the Inden opencast mine, which has 26 500 solar modules and was presented a few weeks ago.

“This is already the fourth large solar project we are launching in the Rhenish mining district within a very short period of time, again in combination with a storage system. We are stepping up the pace, in particular in our home state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and we are implementing every wind and solar project possible. Across Germany, the capacity of these renewable energy projects will amount to 1000 MW by 2030, with at least 500 MW to be located in the Rhenish mining district. To this end, we are investing around €4 billion gross,” said Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe and Australia.

“The RWE Neuland Solar Farm will also be built on a recultivated opencast mining site. It is located near the shore of the future Hambach Lake and will be reached by its water level in decades only. Until the lake is completely filled with water, around 40 years from now, the area is being put to good use temporarily for solar farms. In this way, even opencast mines that are still active can already contribute towards the energy transition,” added Lars Kulik, CTO Lignite at RWE Power.

After completion (current plans aim for the end of 2023) the RWE Neuland Solar Farm will have a capacity of 8.4 MWac. Bifacial modules, which are photosensitive on both sides will be installed. The advantage of these is that, in addition to sunlight hitting the panels directly, they can also utilise light reflected by the ground to the rearside of the modules. This makes these modules extremely efficient. The battery storage system is designed for a two-hour charging and supply cycle of over 8 MWh, functioning as a buffer between generation and grid.

The new plant is being built next to the RWE Neuland 1 Solar Farm with a planned capacity of 17.6 MWac . Subject to planning permission going through quickly, installation could commence as early as this year.