The three-year “SynAgri-PV” project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aims at developing a model for expanding agrivoltaics in Germany. The “SynAgri-PV” research consortium consists of Becker Büttner Held (BBH) and a further eight partners from science, industry and practice; the project is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF).
The fast and large-scale expansion of renewables in Germany requires vast amounts of land. This increases the pressure on land resources, which are scarce anyway and, among others, also needed for the production of food.
Agrivoltaics constitutes a promising solution and a chance for both agriculture and the energy transition as it enables the production of food and renewable energy on the same piece of land thanks to solar panels that are often mounted high off the ground. Despite this potential, only very few, small-scale Agrivoltaics projects have been successfully implemented so far in Germany. This is particularly due to the existing legal framework, missing incentives and comparatively complex approval procedures. In addition, there are increasing concerns, e.g. as regards the acceptance by the local population and the impact on the scenic quality of the landscape.
This is to change in the future. The goal of the SynAgri-PV project (synergetic integration of photovoltaics into agriculture as a contribution to a successful energy transition – connecting the stakeholders and supporting the market uptake of agrivoltaics in Germany) is to develop a model for expanding Agrivoltaics in Germany, to specify the steps required to implement such model, to outline possible solutions and to identify needs for further research.
As a member of the project consortium, Becker Büttner Held is in charge of the legal issues regarding agrivoltaics together with the foundation Stiftung Umweltrecht.
“With the Easter Package, the legislator cleared the path for agrivoltaics in the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). The focus must now be on identifying the remaining obstacles for agrivoltaics in the legal framework and developing solutions to overcome them. This is what we aim for within the SynAgri-PV project. I am delighted about BBH’s participation in the project,“ says BBH partner and renewable energy expert Jens Vollprecht.
Project partners:
- Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (coordination)
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) (coordination)
- University of Hohenheim – Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology
- Elysium Solar GmbH
- Becker Büttner Held Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer Steuerberater PartGmbB
- Stiftung Umweltenergierecht
- Bosch & Partner GmbH
- Fabian Karthaus, agricultural enterprise (associated partner)
- Hofgemeinschaft Heggelbach, agricultural enterprise (associated partner)
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Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke
Rechtsanwältin/Lawyer, Partner
Phone +49 (0)30 611 28 40 - 179
ines.zenke@bbh-online.de
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