Just recently the Greiz-Gommla Solar Farm in East Thuringia that was constructed by the Husum-based project developer WKN AG has been put into operation. On an area of 8.2 hectares approximately 23,000 monocrystalline solar modules were installed that yield a total output of 4,498 KWp. From now on they provide over 1,000 households with environmentally-friendly electricity.
What is remarkable about Greiz-Gommla is that the open area plant has been built on a former waste disposal site. Where household waste was dumped some years ago, a solar farm now ensures the production of green energy. The Abfallwirtschaftszweckverband Ostthüringen (a joint association for the waste management of East Thuringia) made an area available that was not suitable for any other use because it had been a waste disposal site. Thus a dump site has become an ecologically practical public utility site.
For the construction of the solar farm the project partners pursued not only the sustainable usage of the former waste disposal site but also an environmentally-friendly method of building. Most of the temporary access roads to the construction site were covered with aluminium plates, which were quickly be removed without causing permanent damage. Furthermore, ground screws were used to facilitate later dismantling without damaging the area.
The construction of the 4.5-megawatt project took three months. "Cooperation with all local partners, in particular with the Abfallwirtschaftszweckverband and the local authorities was extremely good,” the WKN Project Manager Marc Timmer reports. Numerous companies seated in the region were commissioned with the work on the site.
In addition, the financing and sales process ran smoothly. Parallel to implementing the project, WKN arranged the bank financing with the Deutsche Kreditbank AG. Subsequent to its successful commissioning the solar farm was sold to the CHORUS Group. “We are pleased to have sold the solar farm to the CHORUS Group, an experienced and responsible purchaser whom we look forward to working together with on a long-term basis,“ Marc Timmer continues. The CHORUS Managing Director Thomas Laumont adds: “The solar farm in Greiz is an ideal enhancement to our current solar fund portfolio.” Now WKN has also taken on the technical operational management and maintenance of the Greiz-Gommla Solar Farm for the CHORUS Group.
Since 2006 the CHORUS Group has been specialising in renewable energy funds and is regarded as one of the most experienced initiators in this field. To date CHORUS has placed shares in a total of 17 funds and invested over 400 million euros in 60 renewable energy plants with a total output of 140 megawatts.
WKN AG
WKN AG has planned, installed and operated turnkey wind farms and solar power systems in Germany since 1990. In addition, WKN AG is also internationally represented by subsi-diaries in numerous European countries, South Africa and the US. Up to now, the company has initiated and realized projects with a total of around 1,100 megawatts capacity.
The headquarters of the WKN-Group are located at the “House of Future Energies”, an established center of excellence for renewable energy sources in Husum/Germany. 53.43 percent of WKN shares are privately owned by the company’s founder Volker Friedrichsen. About 17 percent are held by diverse private and institutional shareholders while 29.33 percent are in the hands of Siemens Project Ventures. The Chairman of the WKN Supervisory Board is Dr Klaus Rave.
For more information, please contact Catrin Petersen, Head of Communications & Marketing, by phone +49 48 41 – 89 44 100
WKN AG
House of Future Energies
Otto-Hahn-Strasse 12 – 16, 25813 Husum, Germany
Tel. +49 4841 – 89 44 100
Fax +49 4841 – 89 44 225
www.wkn-ag.de
Publication and reprint free of charge. Archive copy kindly requested.