Does a solar requirement make sense in Brandenburg?

Published on: April 12, 2021 / Update from: August 26, 2023 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

 

Along with Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg produces more than twice as much electricity as it actually needs. Other federal states such as Hesse or Thuringia have to obtain the additional electricity they need from other federal states or from abroad.

According to the iwd (information service of the German Economic Institute), Brandenburg, as the frontrunner, produced around 34,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) more electricity than it consumed in 2016. Hesse, on the other hand, had to purchase almost 21,000 GWh in 2017.

At the end of 2018, power generation systems based on sun, wind, biomass and other renewable energy sources with more than 11,200 megawatts were installed in the country. And so far without a solar obligation ! These generated an estimated 18 terawatt hours of electricity. Wind energy contributed to this with around 12 terawatt hours, solar energy with almost 3 terawatt hours and bioenergy with more than 3 terawatt hours. That was mathematically enough to supply all end customers in Brandenburg with renewable electricity in 2018. According to the MLUK, Brandenburg has achieved its stated goal of 100% coverage of final energy consumption from renewable energies for the first time and significantly earlier than planned.

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection (MLUK) )

Renewable energies account for 73.2% of gross electricity consumption in Brandenburg (2016). Even though Brandenburg has the most wind turbines after Lower Saxony, only 32.3% of renewable energies account for gross electricity generation. The largest share of 57.3% currently comes from coal energy.

The expansion of renewable energies became one of the important measures of Brandenburg's climate protection policy

In comparison, solar energy has the greatest development of renewable energy sources in terms of primary energy consumption. In 2019, more than 38,900 photovoltaic systems with an output of 3,700 MW were installed in Brandenburg. The goal of Brandenburg's energy strategy was to generate around 3,500 megawatts using photovoltaic systems by 2030 and has already been achieved. With an average annual consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), this can supply 1 million private households with electricity for a year.

 

On March 19, 2021, the MLUK published the following press release:

Recommendations for action on the resource-saving expansion of photovoltaic systems in open spaces

After discussions with representatives of the Brandenburg Association of Cities and Municipalities and interested cities, municipalities and offices via video conference, the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection published its recommendation for action to support municipal decisions for large-scale photovoltaic ground-mounted solar systems. This provides cities and municipalities with technical guidance and assistance in their complex planning tasks for open-space photovoltaic systems.

“The expansion of the use of solar energy should also continue to progress in Brandenburg, because climate protection through low-emission energy use is an important task for the future. It is important that the increased use of solar energy takes place within an orderly framework. The communities are called upon here. “I would like to provide assistance with practical tips on taking into account nature, species and landscape protection concerns as well as the structural design of large-scale solar systems,” said Agriculture and Environment Minister Axel Vogel

Jens Graf, managing director of the Brandenburg Association of Cities and Municipalities, added that the representatives of the cities and municipalities decide on the planning approval of large-scale open-space photovoltaic systems as part of the land-use planning and thus their local self-government. With a view to the current pressure from investors to settle, the Ministry of the Environment has published an initial working guide that focuses in particular on the concerns of the environment, nature and landscape. Cities and municipalities are made easier to make necessary balancing decisions.

Photovoltaic ground-mounted solar systems in Brandenburg

In addition to decentralized solutions for solar systems on roofs and on house walls, projects for the installation of photovoltaic systems on open spaces are increasingly being developed. The systems, some of which are several hundred hectares in size and are mainly located on previous agricultural sites, generate large amounts of solar power and are therefore important building blocks of the energy strategy in Brandenburg.

The number of such projects has been increasing rapidly recently. After this form of energy production was not profitable without subsidies for many decades, the higher efficiency of the modules associated with technical progress is now leading to developments at locations that do not require government funding. This increases the pressure, for example, on agricultural sites that were previously not interesting for this form of energy use. The result is a huge rush for land on which solar parks can be built.

However, disorderly development also leads to conflicts with other land uses or with nature and landscape protection. There is also the risk of acceptance problems among the population. The municipalities must therefore answer the question of acceptable scope and suitable location, taking into account competing usage interests such as agriculture and nature, species and landscape protection concerns.

The recommendations for action are not legally binding guidelines. However, they should be used by the communities as an aid when planning and designing solar parks. Because of the planned update of the state's energy strategy in the next few months and the resulting need for changes to the handout, it is described as provisional.

In terms of content, the paper names approval and exclusion criteria for the construction of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems and aspects to be used in a case-by-case assessment. It also points out the possibilities and requirements for the system and operational design of the projects as well as preferred special forms of system design.

The preliminary recommendation for action to support municipal decisions for large-scale photovoltaic ground-mounted solar systems

This is a recommendation for action from the MLUK and not a legally binding requirement. Laws or regulations of other legal provisions remain unaffected by this.

In 2020, the state government committed to implementing the Paris Climate Protection Agreement and aims for Brandenburg to operate and live in a climate-neutral manner by 2050 at the latest. In order to achieve this goal, the state government, under the leadership of the MLUK, is currently developing a climate plan as a binding climate strategy encompassing all sectors, including an action plan. Without a greenhouse gas-free power supply based on renewable energies, achieving greenhouse gas neutrality is not possible.

Against this background, the state government supports the expansion of photovoltaics, particularly for climate policy reasons and to secure independent energy supplies.

From the MLUK's point of view, this requires the extensive use of buildings for the installation of photovoltaic systems and the construction of ground-mounted PV systems in Brandenburg, in addition to the decided use of wind energy on 2 percent of the state's area.

The state government will therefore probably set a specific expansion target for photovoltaic systems as part of the energy strategy and climate plan to be updated. In order to achieve this goal, a potential analysis for usable areas on open spaces as well as on sealed and roof areas is currently being developed. Once the result is available and the energy policy measures to expand the use of solar energy in Brandenburg have been specified, it may also become necessary to further develop these recommendations for action. In this respect they are to be viewed as provisional.

Usable areas for ground-mounted photovoltaic systems are currently in particular demand. This is due to their high area efficiency, i.e. the higher electricity yield per area that can be achieved compared to wind and biomass, their greatly reduced production costs of currently around 5 to 6 cents per kilowatt hour and the associated special economic efficiency. Larger solar parks are now economically attractive even without subsidies.

When using open spaces for solar energy, municipalities as planning bodies are asked to meet the building planning requirements.

It is undisputed that directing such systems to suitable areas represents a high demand for professional planning services, but also for communication by investors, operators and also representatives of the municipalities.

Municipalities can and must control open-space photovoltaic systems. The development of a land use plan is necessary here. It is therefore the competence and responsibility of the municipalities whether and where large-scale photovoltaic systems can be built or not.

Increased demand for space, need for action by the municipalities. The MLUK notes that applications are currently being submitted in many communities for the land-use planning to secure areas for the construction of open-space photovoltaic systems. Care should be taken to ensure that such expansion is designed to be socially and nature-friendly. This is a prerequisite in order to maintain the acceptance of these systems among the population and to protect our environment while ensuring a climate-friendly energy supply.

In order to avoid undesirable developments in this sense at an early stage, the MLUK believes it is necessary to keep an eye on foreseeable competition for space from the outset and to support a forward-looking orientation towards suitable locations. In addition, information on the design of such open-space photovoltaic systems should be given on the aspects of multiple use of land, species protection and the landscape.

Outdoor photovoltaic systems should preferably be used in the following areas:

• Areas with a high degree of sealing (e.g. buildings of all kinds, parking lots, roadways, paved paths, etc.
• Areas whose habitat function is significantly impaired (e.g. areas characterized by substance emissions, noise or fragmentation).
• Areas with a landscape that is heavily influenced by technical facilities (e.g. landscapes that are dominated by buildings, cable routes or traffic routes, secondary traffic areas). In particular, areas near high-voltage lines (380/220 kV) can be used sensibly, as connection routes for the ground-mounted solar energy systems are shorter.
• Military or economic (former commercial and industrial areas) conversion areas, other pre-polluted/sealed areas, storage areas, spoil heaps and former open-cast mining areas, as long as they are not valuable in terms of nature conservation or protected under nature conservation law. When using old sites or conversion areas, a risk assessment must be carried out due to the planned change in land use based on the Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG). On this basis, dismantling or unsealing of the areas may need to be planned. Post-mining locations are also considered suitable.
• With regard to suitable areas, a consideration must be made on a case-by-case basis, as it is not possible to base a general assessment on the yield capacity and soil quality. So low-yield soils can offer high ecological utility and high-yield soils can also be useful for building with PV-FFA. A differentiated, individual case-based consideration is required.

Exclusion criteria for the construction of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems

The construction of such systems in the following protected areas is excluded because the project is not or cannot be brought into line with the protective purpose:

• Nature reserves
• FFH areas
• European bird sanctuaries
• landscape protection areas
• Areas in accordance with Section 30 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatschG) and extensive natural monuments

🢂 We will keep you updated here about further developments in Brandenburg!

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Xpert.Digital – Konrad Wolfenstein

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