RWE’s Inden Opencast Mine will produce solar power of 14.4 megawatts (MW). The “RWE indeland Solarpark” is the first of its kind in Europe and combines around 26,500 solar modules and a battery storage system. The plant is expected to be commissioned by late summer this year.
The solar modules will be installed in two 1.4-kilometre-long and 100-metre-wide rows on a gravelled surface at the western edge of the opencast mine. After the end of mining operations in 2029, the area will be at the edge of the lake. RWE proposed to the German Federal Network Agency as part of a tender for innovation initiatives – and which it won last year.
The battery storage system is designed for a two-hour charging and supply cycle of 9.6 megawatt hours, functioning as a buffer between generation and grid. In this way, feed-in can be even better tailored to meet demand.
Katja Wünschel, CEO Wind Onshore and Solar Europe & Australia at RWE Renewables: “We are investing 11 million euros in our new project at the Inden opencast mine. This makes RWE indeland solar farm the next building block of a climate-friendly and more import-independent electricity production.”
RWE is planning to build at least 500 megawatts of generation capacity from renewable sources in the Rhenish lignite mining district alone.
Lars Kulik, CTO Lignite at RWE Power, said: “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.”
RWE already operates or is currently building wind parks with a total installed capacity of around 200 MW in the Rhenish mining district.