Sweden-based energy supplier Vattenfall has commissioned what it describes as Germany’s largest agrivoltaic plant to date.
The 76 MW facility is in Tützpatz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and uses 146,000 bifacial 550 W solar modules from Chinese manufacturer GCL. Electricity is fed into the grid through 240 Sungrow SG250 HX string inverters.
The project spans 93 hectares, combining solar power generation with arable and livestock farming. Located in the Mecklenburg Lake District, it is connected to the Edis grid. A 50.4 MW/109 MWh battery storage system is also planned for 2027.
Vattenfall said the project was built without public subsidies. To secure economic viability, a power purchase agreement was signed with Power and Air Condition Solution Management GmbH (PASM). The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary will purchase all of the solar power generated for 10 years. The electricity would theoretically cover the annual needs of about 4,600 mobile phone sites, out of roughly 35,000 operated by PASM, Managing Director Bernd Schulte-Sprenger said at the commissioning ceremony.
Vattenfall developed the plant, planned since 2017, in three sections. Tützpatz 1 will provide 43.3 MW of capacity with modules on mounting systems from Portuguese manufacturer Pradecon at 11- and 25-degree inclinations across 47.5 hectares. This area combines solar generation with livestock farming.
Tützpatz 2 and Tützpatz 3 use Schletter tracking systems and will be combined with arable farming. The systems provide 13.3 MW across 21.5 hectares and 19.4 MW across 24 hectares.
For livestock farming, six mobile chicken coops, each housing up to 2,500 chickens, are planned. A conventional four-crop rotation is also foreseen for arable land. Vattenfall said the modules are mounted on a longitudinal axis and can tilt east-west from a horizontal position. Wider spacing between rows allows access for agricultural machinery.
In 2021, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania introduced a target deviation procedure, approving about 5,000 hectares of farmland for ground-mounted PV systems. A matrix was developed to define site criteria. Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalization, welcomed the Tützpatz project, citing its high public acceptance and its role in attracting companies that “can come here and produce in a climate-neutral way.” He said the state government will continue to support such projects.
