Own consumption of solar power in Germany has reached megawatt dimensions: In Kaiserslautern, IBC Solar AG handed over three open area solar farms to a subsidiary of the local energy supplier Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern. In the next step, a 3 MW unit will be purchased by local companies and used for their own consumption.
The 6.4 MW project Hölzengraben is located in the city of Kaiserslautern and is the largest of the three PV power plants constructed by IBC Solar. It was constructed with an east-west alignment. This design, which has also gradually conquered the open area sector, does not only make better use of the available space. When the commercial investors receive electricity for their companies from the available total of 3 MW, the alignment of the modules increases electricity production in the morning and evening hours, while rounding off the midday peak, which means that the available self-made energy is better suited to the consumption profiles of the companies, IBC Solar emphasises.
For Stadtwerke subsidiary WVE GmbH, industrial own consumption is a calculation without unknown variables: "Industrial own consumption makes economic sense: Solar power generation costs less than 11 cents per kilowatt hour. Many businesses pay significantly higher prices for conventional electricity," according to Kurt Swan, project developer at WVE GmbH Kaiserslautern. The industrial and commercial companies that receive this electricity are located in the industrial area Hölzengraben in the direct vicinity to the solar park; a 1,200 m long cable route connects producers and purchasers.
IBC SOLAR also announced that they have handed over two further solar parks near Sötern to WVE GmbH, which each have approximately 1.6 MW of installed capacity. Both parks will be taken over by local investors after test operation, while management of the facilities will remain with the Stadtwerke subsidiary.
Ralf Ossenbrink
Photovoltaic Feed