Baden-Württemberg’s largest solar park now in operation

Langenenslingen. EnBW has commissioned its solar park in Langenenslingen-Wilflingen (district of Biberach in the southwest of Germany). With a total output of 80 megawatts, the 146,016 modules generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of around 30,000 households every year. This makes it the currently largest solar park in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The solar power plant took about a year to build and covers an area of around 80 hectares. The facility enjoys a high level of acceptance among the population: All resolutions relating to the project passed unanimously on the municipal and local councils.

“It is always a special moment when a major project goes into operation” said Peter Heydecker, Member of the Board of Management for Sustainable Generation Infrastructure at EnBW. He adds: “And it is a particularly great one when the project is completed on schedule and at the same time comes in well below the forecast cost, as it is the case here. I would like to thank everyone involved in the project for making this happen – those at EnBW as well as our partners and suppliers and, of course, the people in the municipality and the relevant offices. We all pulled together to make it possible.” The total cost of the solar park, which EnBW built without any state funding, was in the mid-double-digit million range. The electricity generated in Langenenslingen is fed into the grid around four kilometers away in Beuren, where there is a connection to the region’s 110-kilovolt high-voltage grid via the company’s own substation.

EnBW began planning the solar park in 2019. The project developer SolNet helped it to secure the land and negotiate the land-use planning process. EnBW was responsible for producing the detailed technical plans and identifying project optimization measures. The lease agreement was signed in March 2020 and the decision was taken to draw up the plans in June of the same year. The land-use planning process was completed when the plans were officially approved at the end of 2022. EnBW was then granted the building permit in June 2023, with construction work getting under way in February 2024.

“This is a special moment for our community. We now have the largest solar park in the entire state – proof of the leading role that we and our entire region will play when it comes to the energy supply of the future,” explained Langenenslingen’s Mayor Andreas Schneider. “This project also strengthens our community financially. Needless to say that we will have plenty of reasons to celebrate at the official opening,” he added. The opening ceremony is due to be held in July 2025, with high-ranking representatives from the world of politics expected to attend.

EnBW particularly took the interests of people and nature into account in the course of the project. By way of example, a comprehensive preliminary archaeological survey and supervision of the excavation work made sure that any potential historical finds were preserved. In close cooperation with the municipality and the local authorities, EnBW established compensatory and replacement measures to protect and support the native flora and fauna. These measures include the preservation of the existing orchard trees, the planting of around 250 additional shrubs and trees and the creation of 30 ponds that provide a home for amphibians. Operating the solar park will cut carbon emissions by around 60,000 metric tons per year when compared to conventional forms of power generation.

About EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG

With a workforce of around 30,000 employees, EnBW is one of the largest energy supply companies in Germany and Europe. It supplies energy to around 5.5 million customers and is active across all stages of the value chain, from generation and trading to grid operation and the sale of electricity, heating and gas. In the course of the company’s transformation from a traditional energy provider to a sustainable infrastructure group, the expansion of renewable energy sources and of the distribution and transportation grids for electricity, gas and hydrogen are cornerstones of EnBW’s growth strategy and the focus of its investment spending. By 2030, EnBW plans gross investments of over 40 billion euros, around 90 percent of which is earmarked for Germany. Renewables are set to account for around 80 percent of EnBW’s generation portfolio by then. The aim is to phase out coal by the end of 2028. These are key milestones on the way to the company being carbon-neutral by 2035. www.enbw.com