RWE breaks ground on 14.4-MW solar project at German opencast mine

RWE AG (ETR:RWE) has begun the construction of a 14.4-MW solar project with integrated battery storage of 9.6 MWh at an opencast mine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The German power group is installing 26,500 solar modules in two rows and a storage system on a gravelled surface at the western edge of the Inden opencast mine in the Rhenish mining area. Lignite mining operations at Inden will end in seven years.

The solar park is expected to go online by late summer this year, RWE said earlier this week.

The project, worth EUR 11 million (USD 11.53m) in investments, was awarded by the Federal Network Agency in an innovation tender last year.

“Energy transition and structural change in the Rhenish mining district are progressing well with projects like the RWE indeland solar farm. There is plenty of space for renewables facilities on the areas previously used for opencast mining – the mining district will thus remain an energy location in the future,” said RWE Power Lignite CTO Lars Kulik.

The Essen-based energy group is planning to deploy at least 500 MW of renewables capacity in the Rhenish lignite mining region. It already operates or is currently building wind parks with a total installed capacity of around 200 MW in the region and more wind and solar projects are being planned.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.049)

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