German electricity utility enercity will build rooftop solar systems for the State of Lower Saxony after winning what it says is the 1st nationwide public tender in the country for a state to install PV systems on its roof. Lower Saxony says this is in step with the state’s target to become climate-neutral by 2035.  

According to enercity, this auction was preceded by an award procedure advertised throughout Europe. Nationwide, this is the first public tender by a state for the construction and operation of PV systems on its own roofs by third parties, while at the same time purchasing the PV electricity on-site. 

Under the agreement reached, enercity will install and operate the projects for about 500 state-owned buildings for a period of 20 years. Electricity generated will be purchased by the administration to power the buildings directly, while the excess electricity will be fed into the grid.    

Possible locations exist in the districts of Emsland, Cloppenburg, Oldenburg, Vechta, Grafschaft Bentheim and Osnabrück, as well as in the cities of Oldenburg and Osnabrück. Here, the state has buildings like Lingen correctional facility, the Bad Bentheim tax office, the Schloss Iburg authorities building, the University of Vechta and the Oldenburg Police Academy. 

Currently, suitable roof area of some 355,000 sq. mt. is being examined to host rooftop PV systems. “If only half of the roof areas should prove to be suitable, around 30 GWh per year can be generated in the future,” stated enercity.   

Lower Saxony owns a total of around 5,500 buildings being used by state authorities and universities. The administration wants to equip all suitable roofs with solar PV systems ‘as quickly as possible’.