A 605 megawatt (MW) project in Germany has been awarded the title of the largest photovoltaic plant in Europe, displacing a photovoltaic plant in Spain from first place.

The Witznitz solar park near Leipzig, which is not subsidized by the state, is owned by the German investment company HANSAINVEST Real Assets. It has been continuously online since the end of March.

MoveOn Energy, the developer of the solar park, will install another 45 MW of power on its own and connect it to the grid by summer 2024. From then on, the solar park will have more than 1.1 million modules.

It sits on more than 500 hectares of the former Witznitz II open pit lignite mine. It will produce enough clean electricity to power around 200,000 homes and avoid around 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

A long-term power purchase agreement for around 600 MW of clean energy from Witznitz was reached last year with Shell Energy Europe.

Cycle lanes have been created around the Witznitz solar farm, and HANSAINVEST said in a statement that it will initially make up to 10 hectares (25 acres) available for agrivoltaics.

The solar park in Spain that has now moved to number 2 is the 500 MW Núñez de Balboa project in the Extremadura region.