German federal state Hesse opens up low-yield agricultural land to solar parks

The southern German federal state Hesse has become the third in the country to make its so-called “disadvantaged areas” available for solar fields, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) has announced in a press release. Following in the footsteps of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Hesse will sanction the construction of solar parks on low-yield agricultural land. The association expects further federal states to follow the three states’ lead. “For a successful regional structural change in the context of the coal exit, other federal states, such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, should move forward with siting for solar parks,” BSW head Carsten Körnig said.

Read the press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article How a Hessian county outpaces Germany's energy transition and the factsheet German federalism: In 16 states of mind over the Energiewende.