Start of Construction for Baden-Württemberg's Largest Solar Park

The largest solar park in Baden-Württemberg is currently being built on the Swabian Jura. The installed capacity will be 80 MW - more than twice as powerful as the previously leading solar park in the region. From mid-2025, the 80-hectare open-space installation near Langenenslingen is expected to generate around 80 million kWh of solar power annually, which would theoretically cover the needs of about 30,000 households. The project partners came together through the Solar Cluster Baden-Württemberg: the project developer SolNet, which established the connection with the property owner and the municipality and obtained their approval, and EnBW as the future owner and operator of the solar park.

"In the future, we will need more of such success stories," says Solar Cluster Managing Director Andreas Schlumberger.

Because to achieve the climate targets, solar parks with a total capacity of around 1.4 GW are required each year. That equates to 18 solar parks of the size that EnBW is currently building.

Avoiding 55,000 t CO₂

The operation of the solar park in Langenenslingen is expected to avoid around 55,000 t of CO₂ emissions annually. The partners found a suitable area with the Freiherren von Stauffenberg family, who have been based in the area for almost six centuries. Initially, only 10 hectares were planned. After fruitful discussions, the project area then grew to an impressive 80 hectares.

Historical Connection Between EnBW and Landowners

The cooperation between EnBW and the von Stauffenbergs is also fitting for a historical reason: The grandfather of Franz Schenk Freiherr von Stauffenberg was involved in the founding of the Zweckverband Oberschwäbische Elektrizitätswerke in 1909. This association later led to the creation of EnBW.

Thus, it was only logical that EnBW became a partner in the project. Initial discussions about the undertaking took place between SolNet's managing director Hans Pfisterer and Langenenslingen's mayor Andreas Schneider as early as May 2018. These were followed by talks with the von Stauffenbergs and a unanimous resolution by the local council in favor of the solar project. In 2020, after the meeting regarding the Solar Cluster, EnBW came on board as a powerful partner. Following the current start of construction, it is expected to take just under one and a half years to install and connect the approximately 150,000 solar modules to the power grid.

Hurdles had to be overcome

The electricity is fed into the 110 kV high-voltage grid of the transmission system operator Netze BW. To obtain the connection, the parties involved had to overcome several hurdles: A cable route of about 4 km was necessary, as well as a construction site for the required substation near the high-voltage grid. The construction site also had to have an access road suitable for heavy transport. This proved to be a real challenge due to the small-scale composition of the plots around the substation. The last of the necessary contracts was signed just one week before the ground-breaking ceremony. Now the excavators can start, and the commissioning of the solar park can be celebrated in mid-2025.