The German company Q-Cells SE, one of the world’s largest producers of solar energy technology, recently completed a large solar power installation, and used a novel approach to its placement and construction. This power station, located in the state of Brandenburg, in Germany, cost EUR 16 million to build, and is actually on a former army barracks site. The barracks constituted what is known as a brownfield site; an area with abandoned buildings and low to moderate levels of pollution.

Q-Cells SE, using funding from project partners HEP Kapital and Thermovolt AG, cleared away some of the barracks buildings and converted others into part of the new solar park structure. The Federal German Agency for Property Management, a government organization leasing the land to Q-Cells SE, assisted in preparing the 19 hectares of land (about 47 acres) for redevelopment by removing ordinance and dangerous compounds that had been left behind.

The approach of reusing previously developed land has been lauded by both government and business leaders. In much of Europe, countryside land is highly valued as populations continue to grow. The practice of using brownfield land for the expanding solar energy industry makes sense since it lets solar-oriented companies conserve the environment in multiple ways.

The 24,000 crystalline panels in the new solar installation are expected to have a maximum energy output of 5.3 megawatts, enough to provide power to about 1,900 homes, and will save an estimated 4,400 tons of carbon dioxide output.