Germany's MVV Energie to deploy 40 MW of solar in Mannheim

German energy company MVV Energie AG (ETR:MVV1) has installed the first solar system as part of an initiative to add 40 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Mannheim on the roofs of buildings and plots owned by the city.

The solar plants will be set up in cooperation with the city of Mannheim which seeks to power all of its real estate properties with renewable energy by 2027, MVV said on Wednesday.

The initiative is being implemented by sMArt City Mannheim GmbH which was created by the two partners last year.

The first solar installation with an area of 150 sq m and a capacity of 63 kWp has been already set up on the roof of a kindergarten which will use the electricity to meet its own needs. The excess power will be fed into the public grid to support the decarbonisation of the city.

The company has been already awarded an order to install PV plants at 19 further sites, mainly kindergartens, which are expected to generate nearly 860 GWh of green electricity and offset 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

The second bundle of solar installations with an annual output of 660 GWh is already planned.

The construction of own solar power plants is an important element of the city's strategy to reach climate neutrality by 2030, said Mannheim's Mayor for Environmental Issues Diana Pretzell.

MVV Energie, which has its head office in Mannheim, is seeking also to advance the green transition in the region's district heating. The power company is working on the construction of a 20-MW heat pump on the Rhine river which is expected to supply heating for 3,500 households and save some 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

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