One year after the end of e5

Virgen opens new solar park for 190 households

While electricity is being generated on the solar modules, sheep can graze on the same meadow in the summer months.

(Bild: Egger)

Despite the e5 withdrawal last year, the East Tyrolean municipality is continuing on its sustainable path and is still focusing on renewable energy. Around 8000 square meters of PV systems have now been installed in the municipality.

Just over a year ago, the municipality of Virgen announced that it was leaving the e5 program of the province of Tyrol - as reported by the "Krone" newspaper. Years of cooperation came to a surprising end. At the time, Mayor Dietmar Ruggenthaler emphasized that the new catalog of measures included "key figures, statistics and carbon footprints that are no longer comprehensible to us". He described this as "bean counting" and drew a line under it.

Panels at the top, sheep grazing at the bottom.

(Bild: Egger)

However, the fact that the municipality continues to focus on projects with renewable energy and sustainability is demonstrated by the new solar park that recently went into operation. A new agri-photovoltaic system was installed on an area of 3,500 square meters. Agri-PV means that both crop production and energy generation take place on agricultural land. In the case of Virgen, sheep graze on the land between May and October.

Around 190 households can be supplied with the electricity generated.

GF Berthold Egger

Enough electricity for 190 households
The new plant is expected to generate around 700,000 kWh of clean electricity per year. "The electricity generated can supply around 190 households," explains CEO Berthold Egger, who pulls the strings of the company together with Nikolaus Egger.

A total of 1100 ultra-modern and bifacial (upward and downward effective) glass-glass solar modules have been installed. The costs for this amount to around 650,000 euros and were financed by the eight shareholders' own funds and subsidies. As the system is partly located on rock humus soil with a slope of up to 45 degrees, special substructure work had to be carried out. The park can also be continuously monitored at all times. This should also ensure efficiency.

"With this PV system, Virgen is positioning itself as a pioneer in the use of clean energy and shows how municipalities can actively contribute to the energy transition," says Egger. In Virgen, 7740 square meters of PV surfaces have already been installed with the new solar park. This corresponds to an output of 1529 kW.