Focus on large-scale solar plants could cut Energiewende costs and land use – study

Greater emphasis on large-scale solar power plants built on open land could cut the costs of Germany’s energy transition by up to 3.5 billion euros by 2030, according to a study commissioned by energy company innogy. “Solar PV installations on open fields are now almost unbeatable in terms of costs,” Ingo Alpheus of innogy subsidiary Beletric said in a press release, adding that improved technology has reduced the amount of space they require. The German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) puts strict limits sites available for power generation and often caps the size of installations eligible for support. The study conducted by research institution ZSW and Bosch & Partner GmbH found that the new target to cover 65 percent of power consumption with renewables by 2030 could be achieved with virtually no additional costs if the potential of large solar installations was better exploited. The new solar parks needed would cover only around 0.3 percent of Germany’s available arable land, which innogy said was not excessive.