Technical management of the EWS Sonnenfeld Pellendorf agri-PV plant by EWS

Michael Wanjura from EWS has been responsible for the technical management of the EWS Sonnenfeld Pellendorf agrivoltaic plant in the municipality of Gaweinstal, Lower Austria, for around six months. As EPC contractor, EWS planned, delivered and implemented the agrivoltaic system for Gugelsolar GmbH in 2023 and was also commissioned with the technical management. Since then, together with four wind turbines, for which EWS also handled the construction management, it has been the first hybrid park of its kind to generate green electricity.

Technical operations management is responsible for safe electrical operation and compliance with all legal and official requirements.

The responsibilities of technical operations management include

•     The fulfilment of all tasks for safe plant operation
•     Documentation of all events
•     Monitoring and testing electricity production
•     Reading out and saving operating data
•     Preparation of monthly and quarterly reports

It is also the interface between agricultural management and the solar power plant and ensures that both function smoothly.

In the case of the Sonnenfeld Pellendorf, the whole thing is a little more complex, as it is a hybrid park consisting of wind and solar energy.

The great advantage of this is that a grid infrastructure can be better utilised through the combined generation of solar power in the summer months and during the day and wind power in the winter months and at night.

Key data for the hybrid farm:

Gugelberg wind farm:  
3 x Vestas V112, hub height 143 m, 3.3 MW each (2017)
1 x Vestas V162, hub height 169 m, 6.2 MW (2023)

Annual electricity production: 44,300 MWh
Household electricity for 12,660 households

EWS Sonnenfeld Pellendorf:     
Nominal output: 3,125 kW
Module output: 545 Wp
Total number of modules: 6,136 units
Total module output: 3,344.12 kWp
3.2 ha agricultural use (80%)
0.72 ha flower strips (18 %)
0.08 ha PV (2 %)

Annual electricity production: 4,267 MWh
Household electricity for 1,219 households