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Solar Energy

RWE to develop two large agri-PV plants in Italy

April 8, 2025 ryansheehanrts

The energy company RWE secured two projects in Italy’s agri-PV subsidy tender. The plants are supported through a contract for difference: once operational, electricity is sold on the power exchange at market price. The state compensates RWE for any shortfall between the auctioned reference price, which is the level required for economic operation, and the actual market price. If market prices rise above the reference, RWE must return the surplus. Moreover, the company receives an investment subsidy of up to 40 per cent.

PV from field and barn: Our special for the dual harvest on farms

Start-up scheduled for the end of 2025

The energy company RWE secured two projects in Italy’s agri-PV subsidy tender. The plants are supported through a contract for difference: once operational, electricity is sold on the power exchange at market price. To ensure economic viability, the state compensates RWE for any shortfall between the market price and the auctioned reference price, which is the level needed for profitable operation. If market prices exceed this reference, RWE is required to return the surplus. In addition to this mechanism, the company also receives an investment subsidy of up to 40 per cent.

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Modules are elevated on high trackers

The two systems are being built as tracker installations, with solar modules mounted on structures that rotate around an axis at a height of three metres. This setup not only meets the requirements for continued agricultural use of the land but also boosts energy yields, as the tracking modules maintain a more optimal alignment with the sun compared to fixed systems. Crops will be cultivated beneath the panels in a fully integrated energy-agriculture system, improving land efficiency while maintaining farm output. In addition, the solar modules offer protection for the crops against hail, frost, drought and heavy rain.

Agri-PV: How to succeed on the path to regenerative and sustainable agriculture

Improving technology

Once the plant is up and running, RWE will assess how shading affects both crop growth and the energy yields of the solar modules. The data gathered through this monitoring will feed into the company’s further development of agri-PV technologies. “The start of construction marks the realisation of our world-first agri-PV projects on a commercial scale, with more to come,” says Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia. “Sunny Italy is also a perfect market for this technology. Advanced agri-PV helps us to use the scarce resource of land responsibly and efficiently, generating two different yields (agriculture and renewable energy) from the same land. Win-win at its best.” (su)

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Solar Energy

RWE starts operation of its first solar plant

February 25, 2025 ryansheehanrts

RWE has commissioned its first solar plant in Italy. The 8.3 megawatt (MW) Bosco ground-mounted solar plant consists of around 15,000 bifacial modules. The photovoltaic plant is located on a 16-hectare site in the municipality of Partinico near Palermo, Sicily.

KEY Rimini 2025: Focus on renewable opportunity for the Mediterranean region

Thanks to the implementation of a new accelerated permitting process in Italy, RWE was able to achieve Ready to Build in less than 18 months. Construction took around ten months. In order to optimise the use of land and resources, as well as to tackle grid scarcity, the Bosco solar plant uses the existing nearby RWE substation in Partinico, from which the local RWE wind farms already feed green electricity into the grid.

Protecting biodiversity

To operate the plant in harmony with the local ecosystem a wildlife-friendly fence was installed to allow safe passage for small animals. There is enough space between the ground and the bottom wire to allow animals such as foxes and rabbits to pass underneath. This voluntary measure reflects RWE’s commitment to a positive impact on biodiversity when delivering renewable energy projects.

Italy: KEY in Rimini as showcase for energy transition

“With the commissioning of Bosco, our first solar plant in Italy is up and running, with more projects to come. Solar is a perfect match for our growing wind fleet in Italy, as solar and wind complement each other perfectly as their production patterns naturally balance each other. Bosco is a flagship project in the field of efficiency, both in terms of the permitting process and grid access. We look forward to the next milestones in our journey to support a clean, stable and cost-effective energy future for Italy», Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australias said.

Integrated approach for renewables in Italy

RWE takes an integrated project approach that incorporates the development, construction and operation as well as marketing of wind farms and solar plants in Italy. As of today, the company operates 16 onshore wind farms with a combined installed capacity of 527 MW in the country. With its onshore fleet, RWE supplies around 450,000 Italian households with green electricity every year. The company is currently constructing the 53 MW Mondonuovo wind farm in the Apulia region. In addition to wind and the Bosco project, RWE is constructing its first commercial scale Agri-PV plants Morcone (9.8 MW) and Acquafredda (9.3 MW) in Campania region. (hcn)

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Solar Energy

RWE builds two huge agri-PV plants in Italy

February 21, 2025 ryansheehanrts

The energy company RWE was successful in the tender for subsidies for agri-PV plants in Italy, with two projects. The plants are subsidised by means of a contract for difference. After commissioning, the electricity is sold on the electricity stock exchange at the current price. RWE is compensated by the state for the difference between the price specified in the tender, which RWE needs to operate the plant economically, and the selling price on the market. If the price sold on the stock exchange exceeds the price auctioned, RWE must pay the excess revenue. In addition, RWE receives an investment subsidy of a maximum of 40 per cent.

PV from field and barn: Our special for the dual harvest on farms

Start-up scheduled for the end of 2025

The two plants are being built in the south-western province of Benevento in Campania. One of the two plants with a capacity of 9.8 megawatts is being built in Morcone, roughly 40 kilometres north-east of Naples. The Acquafredda solar park with an output of 9.3 megawatts is being built some 30 kilometres further north. The plants comprise a total of approximately 32,500 modules. RWE has now started construction of the two plants. Both agri-PV systems should be connected to the grid by the end of 2025.

Don’t miss any important information about the solar energy transition in agriculture! Simply subscribe to our free newsletter.

Modules are elevated on high trackers

The two systems are built as tracker installations. The solar modules are turned around an axis at a height of three metres. This not only fulfils the requirements regarding the usability of the area for agriculture. It will also increase the energy yield, as the tracked modules are better aligned with the position of the sun than a fix-mounted system. Crops will be harvested below the panels in a fully integrated energy-agri system, increasing agricultural production while optimising land use. I Additionally, the solar modules protect these crops from hail, frost, drought and heavy rain.

Agri-PV: How to succeed on the path to regenerative and sustainable agriculture

Improving technology

Once the plant has been commissioned, RWE will analyse how the shading affects the development of the plants and the actual yields generated by the solar modules. RWE intends to use the data from this monitoring to further develop its agri-PV technologies. „The start of construction marks the realisation of our world-first agri-PV projects on a commercial scale, with more to come“, Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, holds out the prospect. „Sunny Italy is also a perfect market for this technology. Advanced agri-PV helps us to use the scarce resource of land responsibly and efficiently, generating two different yields – agriculture and renewable energy – from the same land. Win-win at its best“, she states. (su)

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Solar Energy

Research project – Floating solar plant installed on artificial lake

November 19, 2024 ryansheehanrts

Photovoltaic installations on roofs or in fields is nothing unusual. However, it is probably not widely known that solar installations can also float. That may be about to change, as more than 190 floating solar modules have been installed on the Mortkasee artificial lake in Lohsa, Saxony. This joint project between RWE, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) investigates the extent to which floating solar islands can be implemented and operated in harmony with aquatic ecology. The project is being sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The plant was officially inaugurated today in the presence of guests from the worlds of science, industry and politics, including representatives of the Saxon Ministry of Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture, and Thomas Leberecht, the mayor of Lohsa. Interested citizens also had the opportunity to learn about floating solar islands and the “PV2Float” research project.

Solar modules learn to float

Thomas Leberecht, mayor of the Lohsa municipality: “Originally created by flooding the Werminghoff opencast lignite mine, the Mortkasee artificial lake has become one of the first research sites for floating solar islands in Germany. This technology promises a higher power yield, since the cold water can have a positive impact on the efficiency of the solar modules. Another advantage is that previously unused mine lakes, which are not intended to be used for recreation, can be developed for green electricity generation. That offers major potential for the energy transition in Germany and here in our region.”

Three different floating solar islands have been installed on the Mortkasee. With a rated capacity of about 30 kilowatts each, these are relatively small, but still provide important insights into the benefits of various technological solutions, how costs can be reduced, and how larger, future floating solar installations can be implemented in harmony with the environment. The research plant on the Mortkasee will operate until the end of 2027.

Also interesting: Offshore solar pilot installation in the Dutch North Sea

Experienced partners from research and industry

RWE, Fraunhofer ISE and BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg are the three expert partners driving this research project forward. RWE has many years of experience in the construction and operation of utility-scale solar plants and already operates a floating photovoltaic plant on a former cooling water lake in the Netherlands. Fraunhofer ISE is Europe’s largest solar research institute. It develops solutions for floating photovoltaics and other integrated photovoltaic technologies, in addition to carrying out research into public acceptance of these technologies. BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg has extensive scientific expertise in the field of aquatic ecology. (mfo)

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Solar Energy

RWE: More renewables and more earnings

August 15, 2024 ryansheehanrts

“Our ‘Growing Green’ strategy is paying off – more than half of our adjusted EBITDA is already coming from our wind and solar energy business. Our power production from renewables reached a record level of 26 terawatt hours and accounted for 45 per cent of total generation. At the same time, we have significantly reduced our CO2 emissions.

We are continuing to invest billions of euros in the value-creating expansion of our geographically and technologically broadly diversified portfolio. At the same time, the demand for green electricity continues to rise. RWE is ideally positioned to continue to drive the energy transition both in Germany and internationally”, Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG said.

45% of generated power from renewables

In the first half of 2024, the company invested €4.5 billion net in new plants and made the final investment decision for the construction of further wind, battery and solar projects with a total capacity of 2.9 gigawatts (GW). These include the offshore wind projects Nordseecluster in Germany and OranjeWind in the Netherlands. A total of 10.2 GW of new capacity is currently under construction.

Green electricity production reached a record level of 26 terawatt hours (TWh) in the first half of 2024. 45% of the power generated by RWE came from renewable sources. At the same time, RWE has further reduced its CO2 emissions significantly, by 27% compared to the first half of 2023.

Business development in the first half of 2024 by segment

Offshore Wind: Adjusted EBITDA in the Offshore Wind segment amounted to €828 million, compared to €762 million in the first half of 2023. The increase in earnings is mainly due to improved wind conditions compared to the previous year.

Onshore Wind/Solar: The Onshore Wind/Solar segment recorded adjusted EBITDA of €730 million compared to €519 million in the first half 2023. The positive earnings development is due to the commissioning of new capacity and the recognition of the business activities of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses in the US for the full six months. In addition, RWE realised higher electricity prices than in 2023 – above all in the US – and benefited from more favourable weather conditions.

Flexible Generation: Adjusted EBITDA of the Flexible Generation segment decreased to €1,014 million in the first half of 2024 from €1,949 million in the prior-year period. The margins on electricity forward sales and income from the short-term optimisation of power plant dispatch fell short of the exceptionally high level recorded last year.

Supply & Trading: At €318 million, the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was significantly below the previous year’s figure of €799 million. Performance was below the extraordinarily high level of 2023.

As of fiscal 2024, RWE has pooled the lignite-fired power generation business and the nuclear decommissioning activities as ‘Phaseout Technologies’ and has been managing them based on adjusted cash flows. This business is no longer included in adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBIT and adjusted net income. (hcn)

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Offshore solar pilot installation in the Dutch North Sea

August 14, 2024 ryansheehanrts

The pilot project aims to test and demonstrate the structural, mooring and electrical designs and acquire knowledge about manufacturing, assembly, offshore installation and maintenance methodologies required for large-scale commercial deployment of OFPV.

12 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen

Merganser has a capacity of 0.5 MW and is located in the Dutch North Sea, approximately 12 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen. The scalable concept consists of six interconnected platforms that can withstand extreme offshore conditions. The floating platforms were successfully connected to the mooring system in water depth of 20 meters. RWE will continue to provide its offshore know-how and technical support to the pilot project.

Also see: Accelerate deployment of offshore PV floating

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind: “Standalone or also in combination with offshore wind farms, offshore floating solar could open up further offshore renewable energy opportunities – especially for countries with lower average wind speeds but lots of sunlight. With Merganser, we are gaining unique insights and first-hand experience in one of the most challenging offshore environments in the world.”

Following the waves like a carpet

Taking solar farms offshore requires technology that is able to withstand rough offshore conditions. SolarDuck´s triangular-shaped platform is designed to float several meters above the water, following the waves like a carpet. In this way, the design is keeping critical components dry, clean and stable, as well as securing the structural integrity of the semi-submersible floating structure. The design received recently the world’s first certification for OFPV by Bureau Veritas.

SolarDuck

Close aerial view of Merganser.

Koen Burgers, CEO SolarDuck: “The successful installation of Merganser is proof of the dedication of SolarDuck’s team to electrify the world with offshore floating solar. However, we are not doing this alone. Our project partner, RWE, is a supporter of our technology and vision, in addition to other partners such as TNO, TU Delft, MARIN, and Deltares. Together with numerous supply chain partners, including Damen Shipyards, TMA, and Norsk Hydro, we have turned hard work into a positive change for the energy space.”

More than 180 monitoring sensors

The combination of RWE´s leading global market position in offshore wind and SolarDuck´s technological ingenuity sets the perfect base for accelerating the deployment of OFPV. Over the coming two years, Merganser will be monitored remotely with its more than 180 sensors fitted to monitor structural loads, connector and mooring loads and electrical performance, among other important performance criteria.

Also see: Floating PV Best Practice Guidelines published

Further to the above, Deltares – a Dutch independent institute for applied research – will support an extensive monitoring campaign on the ecological impact of OFPV. (hcn)

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