RWE has commissioned several new solar farms along the A44n motorway in North Rhine-Westphalia, following approximately eight months of construction. The facilities have a total installed capacity of 86.5MWp.
Utilising about 141,000 solar modules, the plants, located on recultivated land at the Garzweiler opencast mine between Bedburg and Jüchen, are expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 27,700 German households.
Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, stated that the project demonstrates RWE’s commitment to expansion, adding: “Next year, we will add several thousand solar modules to the project.
“With wind and solar systems side by side, we are building a renewable energy road on recultivated land along the A44n motorway as a blueprint for further projects in the region.”
A second phase is planned for next year, aiming for 19.9MWp across over 30,600 additional solar modules in the Jüchen municipal area. Subject to planning consent, construction could start in the first half of 2026, with commissioning scheduled for the end of 2026.
Dr. Lars Kulik, CTO Lignite at RWE Power, noted that the projects emphasise that “structural change and the expansion of renewables in the Rhenish lignite area are going hand in hand. There is plenty of space in and around our opencast mines that we are also using for renewables projects.”
He added that RWE Power employees are contributing their expertise to the projects, creating “further prospects for our employees here in the region.”
RWE is also building the Bedburg 3 wind farm, a 60MWp, near the new solar sites. RWE now operates nine solar projects in the Rhenish region, with further photovoltaic schemes, such as the Manheimer Bucht solar farm, currently in the planning stages.
[Image credit: RWE]
