Published on: April 1, 2025 / Updated on: April 1, 2025 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
Solar park project near the motorway: Intermunicipal cooperation between Sinzheim, Baden-Baden and Hügelsheim – Creative image: Xpert.Digital
8 megawatts for the environment: Solar park advances the energy transition
Regional flagship project: Solar park drives climate protection and energy production
The municipality of Sinzheim, together with Baden-Baden and Hügelsheim, is developing an inter-municipal solar park along the motorway, which is intended to play a key role in the regional energy transition. With a planned output of approximately 8 megawatts, this project will make a significant contribution to achieving climate protection goals in Baden-Württemberg and strengthen local energy production. The project exemplifies the increasing use of transport infrastructure areas for generating renewable energy and demonstrates the advantages of inter-municipal cooperation in the field of solar energy.
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The inter-municipal solar power plant: Key data and significance
The municipality of Sinzheim is actively working on the development of an inter-municipal open-field photovoltaic system in cooperation with the city of Baden-Baden and the municipality of Hügelsheim. This photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of approximately 8 megawatts and will be built along the motorway. Its strategic location next to the motorway allows for the efficient dual use of already sealed or previously developed land, thereby reducing potential conflicts of use with agricultural or ecologically valuable areas.
The cooperation between the three municipalities illustrates an important concept in the regional energy transition: joint action enables the realization of larger projects that might not be possible for individual municipalities on their own. This also reflects the growing trend towards regional energy management, as described in the climate protection concept for climate-friendly heating and cooling in the Rastatt district.
Other solar projects in the region
Parallel to the inter-municipal project, another significant solar project is already underway in Sinzheim. Trianel GmbH, with SolNet as the project developer, is constructing a 5.2-megawatt photovoltaic plant on the Waldhof site in Sinzheim. This plant is located west of the A5 motorway, approximately 1.5 kilometers west of Kartung.
The solar park, developed by Trianel GmbH, will have a total capacity of 5.2 MWp and is expected to generate approximately 6.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. With around 12,500 modules, the plant will be able to supply about 1,650 households with electricity and save approximately 5,700 tons of CO₂ annually compared to electricity production from lignite. The permitting process is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, with construction planned to begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
Ideal conditions for solar energy in the region
The geographical location of Sinzheim, Baden-Baden, and Hügelsheim offers excellent conditions for the use of solar energy. These municipalities are situated in the Rhine Plain, one of the sunniest regions in Germany. This region averages approximately 1,800 to 2,000 hours of sunshine per year and an annual global solar irradiance of about 1,150 kWh/m².
The specific solar yield in Sinzheim is approximately 950 to 1,100 kWh per kWp of installed photovoltaic capacity. These values are above average for Germany and make the region particularly attractive for solar projects. The favorable climatic conditions contribute significantly to the economic viability and efficiency of the planned solar installations.
Funding programs and political support
The state of Baden-Württemberg supports the expansion of solar energy along transport infrastructure with special funding programs. The program “Double Use of Space – PV on Mobility Infrastructure,” for which the state Ministry of the Environment is providing a total of four million euros, could be particularly relevant for the inter-municipal project. This program promotes, among other things, investments in photovoltaics on noise barriers, as well as photovoltaic canopies along transport routes.
Political support for solar energy in Baden-Württemberg is generally strong. The state has set itself the goal of making two percent of its land area available for wind power and photovoltaics. At the end of 2020, the share of renewable energies in electricity generation in Baden-Württemberg was around 41 percent, with photovoltaics representing the largest renewable energy source at just over 14 percent.
Integration with regional infrastructure projects
The placement of the solar park along the motorway could potentially be coordinated with other regional infrastructure projects. In particular, there are plans to improve the connection of Baden-Airpark and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport to the motorway, which also affects the municipality of Hügelsheim. Two possible tunnel options have been developed for this purpose, with a steering committee comprised of representatives from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport, the Karlsruhe Regional Council, the Rastatt district, and the municipality of Hügelsheim involved in these plans.
Combining infrastructure and energy projects could create synergies and increase efficiency in planning and implementation. Such integrated planning also aligns with the concept of dual land use, which is gaining increasing importance in Baden-Württemberg.
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Citizen participation and local acceptance
The support of the local population is crucial for the success of solar park projects. The municipality of Sinzheim has already gained experience in promoting solar energy at the local level with its "Sunny Sinzheim" solar campaign. This campaign provides citizens with information on installing photovoltaic systems on their roofs or balcony power plants and could serve as a model for information and participation formats surrounding the planned inter-municipal solar park.
Citizen participation is also planned for the Trianel GmbH solar park. Residents whose primary residence is in the municipality where the solar park is to be built have the opportunity to participate financially in the project. Similar participation models could also be discussed for the inter-municipal solar park in order to strengthen local acceptance and keep the added value within the region.
Intermunicipal solar park: Shaping the energy transition together in Baden-Württemberg
The inter-municipal solar park project of Sinzheim, Baden-Baden, and Hügelsheim represents an important step in the regional energy transition. With its strategic location along the motorway, it utilizes the concepts of dual land use and inter-municipal cooperation to make a substantial contribution to a sustainable energy supply.
The favorable climatic conditions in the region, the political support at the state level, and the possibility of linking it with other infrastructure projects create positive conditions for the project's success. Combined with other solar park projects, such as the one by Trianel GmbH, the region could become a pioneer for sustainable energy production in Baden-Württemberg.
It remains to be seen how the specific plans will develop and which models for citizen participation will be implemented. In any case, the experience gained from this project could provide valuable insights for similar projects in other regions of Germany and contribute to accelerating the energy transition.
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