The new solar roof cycle path combines two characteristic features of Freiburg: the city is not only the place with the most hours of sunshine in Germany, but is also particularly bicycle-friendly. The construction provides electricity and keeps cyclists dry.
300 meters, 900 solar panels, 280 MWh electricity per year
Together with the city of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the German energy supplier Badenova has installed a solar roof on a cycle path at the exhibition center in Freiburg. The whole thing extends over a length of 300 meters and consists of 900 transparent solar modules from the German manufacturer Solarwatt. The assembly of the solar modules was carried out by the Freiburg-based company Clickcon. In total, the covered route is to produce 280 MWh of electricity per year.
dr Karolina Baltins from the Fraunhofer Institute, who leads the PV power plant team, said in an interview with Electrek: “Not only do we use the solar energy of the cycle path roof, but we also use the knowledge gained in the pilot project and integrate it into our research to explore the diverse Answer questions about photovoltaics in urban areas. It’s a win-win situation. The solar-covered bike path offers protection from the elements while cyclists pedal with zero emissions, and the roof generates clean energy. This is definitely a pilot project that should be emulated everywhere”.
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The city of Freiburg spares no expense for its climate protection concept
The pilot project started on November 14, 2022. It is now complete and, according to SWR, cost around one million euros. The city of Freiburg not only provided the site for the solar roof cycle route, but also financed part of the roofing from the climate protection fund.
The cycle path is also in the immediate vicinity of the SC Freiburg stadium, on whose roof is already the world‘s second largest solar system on a football stadium. The city of Freiburg aims to generate 100 GWh of renewable energy by 2030, and the new facility above the cycle path is a further step towards this goal.
The project also aims to demonstrate that photovoltaics can be installed not only on roofs in the traditional way, but also on traffic areas. In urban areas in particular, where space is limited and expensive, it is important to find creative solutions to meet renewable energy deployment goals.