Status: 07/25/2021 4:12 p.m.
After drought and heavy rain, more and more farmers are looking for a way out for their troubled farms. You will meet investors who want to build solar parks. Critics warn of the loss of acreage.
Week after week, the Brandenburg farmer Detlef Ebert received inquiries from investors looking for space for new solar parks. The managing director of the agricultural cooperative Stölln in Havelland has come to an agreement with one of them: he wants to lease 120 hectares of his fields for the construction of a photovoltaic system. Doing something for renewable energies is one thing, securing income for the next 30 years is another – regardless of the weather, says the farmer. The agricultural cooperative cultivates a total of 2200 hectares and keeps 750 dairy cows. Before the milk price began to fall in 2014, it was 1,050. In addition to this crisis, the rainy summer of 2017 and the following drought years resulted in significant losses. This summer, Ebert is expecting black numbers, but the sharp rise in energy prices and additional environmental requirements drove up his costs. The lease income from the solar system could help him continue to produce milk.
Fields for food production are being eliminated
The sharp fall in prices for solar modules has, among other things, resulted in a photovoltaic system paying off – even without subsidies. The run of investors on land is just right for farmers who are looking for alternative uses for their fallow or inferior soils. Critical voices among farmers and environmental associations warn of an irretrievable loss of agricultural land. Arable land should be used for food and feed production, demands the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) Brandenburg. Roof areas would have to be used consistently for the photovoltaic systems.
In 2014, the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) consistently spoke out against the installation of solar systems on arable land and grassland. The association is now looking for ways to defuse the dispute over land; for example by promoting agri-photovoltaics: a technology developed by the Frauenhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). It makes it possible to produce electricity synergistically on the land, as well as to grow grain, fruit, vegetables or even wine.
Skepticism in the communities
It is up to the municipalities to approve the construction of solar systems on the arable land. Local mayors and community representatives are literally overwhelmed with corresponding inquiries and applications in some places. They are asking for help from the state: there should be binding criteria, for example for size, construction and environmental requirements. Some federal states have already reacted. Bavaria currently wants to allow 200 such projects per year and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to release a maximum of 5000 hectares of arable land for solar parks per year. The Brandenburg Ministry of Agriculture has issued a preliminary recommendation for action for municipalities as to where and how such systems may be built.
In Stölln, the majority of community representatives have initially allowed the solar investor to plan their construction. However, the responsible mayor, Wolfgang Nitsche, is against the project: photovoltaics, yes, but not at any price. He sees the development of tourism impaired. The planned area is much too large and is located directly at the historic airfield, the attraction of Stölln. The aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal once took off and landed here. The field is also in a nature reserve, the mayor said. According to the recommendation for action by the Ministry of Agriculture, solar systems should not be approved here anyway.
Farmer Ebert opposes that it must be decided by the municipality. The 120 hectares are just five percent of his arable land and are not very productive. The solar system area should also be surrounded by a hedge and grass should be sown so that it can be used as pasture. The planning in Stölln has only just begun and will probably cause some controversy among the villagers. When a decision can be made for or against the solar system is still open.