Uniper to Build New Solar Plants in England, Germany, Hungary

Uniper SE has announced five solar generation projects with a combined capacity of about 233 megawatts peak (MWp) in Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom.

In Germany, Uniper will construct a 17 MWp solar park on the ash landfill of the former Wilhelmshaven coal-run power plant. With generation of about 17,000 MW hours a year, the solar facility can power up to 4,500 households, based on an average household consumption of about 3,300 kilowatt hours (kWh) per annum, Uniper said in a press release.

The 14-hectare park will have 28,500 solar modules, which will be installed using specialized anchoring systems designed for the landfill site. 

“By utilizing the ash landfill site of the former Wilhelmshaven coal-fired power plant, we are transforming unused industrial land into a valuable source of renewable energy”, commented Uniper renewables chief executive Jörg Lennertz.

“The PV Park Voslapper Groden, together with the planned electrolysis plant, the hydrogen import terminal, and the visitor center, forms an important cornerstone of our regional project portfolio”, Lennertz added, referring to the Green Wilhelmshaven project. Green Wilhelmshaven, envisioned to be a European hydrogen interconnection hub, will include a 1-gigawatt electrolyzer planned to be powered by offshore wind.

Commissioning for the solar project is targeted for the first half of 2026. Construction will be carried out by Greening Group.

In Hungary, Uniper will build two photovoltaic farms, one in Tét with a capacity of 90 MWp and another in Dunaföldvár with a capacity of 61 MWp. With a combined capacity of 151 MWp, the plants can supply up to 92,000 households, based on an average consumption per household in Hungary of around 2,400 kWh a year, Uniper said in a separate statement.

The Tét project is planned to start operation 2027. The Dunaföldvár project is targeted to go online 2026.

EXTOR Energy Zrt. bagged the contract to build the plants. Maxicontech Kft. and Spie Hungaria Kft. will handle the grid connection in Tét and Dunaföldvár respectively.

“By harnessing solar power in Hungary, Uniper is not only supporting the country’s sustainability objectives but also helping to accelerate the energy transition across the region”, Uniper said.

In the UK, the German utility announced two new projects, the Tamworth Solar Farm with a capacity of approximately 44.2 MWp and the 21.33-MWp Totmonslow Solar Farm. Their collective capacity of about 65 MWp can power about 23,300 homes a year, based on an average household consumption of around 2,700 kWh, Uniper said separately.

Uniper aims to connect the projects, which received approval from local planning authorities in 2023, to the grid next year. The Tamworth project won a contract for difference August 2024.

The solar farms “will be some of the first renewable energy projects to be delivered by Uniper in the UK”, said Alex Smethers, Uniper head of renewables in the UK.

The company said, “In the UK, Uniper is exploring opportunities to potentially develop renewable projects in and around its existing power stations with a focus on the development of solar and onshore wind projects, which for some projects could also include the installation of battery storage facilities”.

The five projects in the three countries are part of Uniper’s plan to invest EUR 8 billion ($8.39 billion) in growth projects by the early 2030s.

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