Vattenfall has commissioned a 76-megawatt peak (MWp) agri-solar project in northeastern Germany, marking the completion of what the company describes as the country’s largest agri-photovoltaic (agri-PV) installation to date.
The Tützpatz solar park, located in the Mecklenburg Lake District, spans 93 hectares and integrates solar energy generation with agricultural land use. The facility, which features approximately 146,000 solar modules, will supply electricity to Power and Air Condition Solution Management (PASM), a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, under a 10-year power purchase agreement.
The project was developed without public subsidies, with construction beginning in late 2023.
“Tützpatz is the first agri-PV project that we are implementing on this scale,” said Claus Wattendrup, head of solar and batteries at Vattenfall. “With Tützpatz, we are showing that agriculture and fossil-free power generation are not in competition with each other, but can complement each other perfectly.”
The solar park is divided into three operational areas. On the Tützpatz 1 sub-area, solar panels have been mounted on elevated frame systems to allow for free-range poultry farming. Vattenfall plans to install six mobile chicken coops, each capable of housing up to 2,500 birds.
The remaining two sections, Tützpatz 2 and Tützpatz 3, are intended for arable farming, with rotating crops grown between rows of solar panels. These modules are mounted on tracker systems that tilt to optimize sunlight exposure and provide sufficient clearance for agricultural machinery.
At the inauguration ceremony, Heiko Geue, Minister of Finance and Digitalisation for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said: “The agri-PV park in Tützpatz is the largest plant of its kind in Germany. This shows how agriculture, the energy industry and climate protection can be cleverly combined.”
“For Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the energy transition is a once-in-a-century opportunity,” Geue added. “That’s exactly why showcase projects like this are so important. They make visible how the future is being shaped in our country.”
Vattenfall said the project serves as a model for integrating renewable energy development with sustainable agriculture, reflecting the company’s broader goals of expanding solar capacity while minimizing land-use conflict.
