VERBUND and Visiolar GmbH develop photovoltaic projects of up to 2,000 MW in Germany

Austria’s leading energy company VERBUND is launching an energy joint venture with Visiolar GmbH. Visiolar, which is based in Potsdam, is part of the Lindhorst Group, a groups of companies that has operated in Lower Saxony/Germany for many years and has experience in the agricultural sector. Visiolar has extensive properties for renewable energy projects, which ensures a highly reliable and expandable platform for the joint activities. 

The joint venture partners advocate a subsidy-free, clean energy supply in close collaboration with farmers, municipalities and citizens. The stated objective is to produce sustainable and CO2-neutral energy, and to make it economically attractive for towns and municipalities.

It is planned to make a part of the Visiolar land of up to 2,000 hectares available for the generation of electrical energy from renewable sources, in particular from photovoltaics. To date, 13 sites with a total of around 1,400 ha (which corresponds to a maximum of around 1,400 MWp of installable power output) have been identified and defined. The aim is to develop, install and put the projects into operation in stages over the coming years. This can make an important contribution to climate protection and to achieving the European greenhouse gas reduction targets. The joint objective is to produce sustainable and CO2-neutral energy as well as to make it economically attractive for towns and municipalities.

“By 2030, VERBUND wants to cover one quarter of its total generation from photovoltaics and onshore wind,” says VERBUND Chairman of the Executive Board, Michael Strugl. “The joint venture with Visiolar represents an important step to achieving this objective. We are delighted to have found a competent partner for this pioneering step in the generation of regenerative energies by means of photovoltaics.” In implementing the projects, VERBUND is also advancing one of the leading photovoltaics players in its core market of Germany. VERBUND already operates 21 hydropower plants on the Inn and the Danube in Bavaria, as well as an 86 MW wind farm in Rhineland-Palatinate.

VISIOLAR managing director Dirk Wenzel adds: “We welcome the cooperation with VERBUND AG. In VERBUND we have found a partner who shares our philosophy of responsibility towards society and is already able to demonstrate significant success implementing projects in the area of renewable energies.”