Ground-Mounted Solar · Project Development

Site Acquisition & Project Development — which land is suitable for a solar park

In short: Suitable land is flat or gently south/southwest-facing, with good grid-connection availability, from roughly 5 hectares contiguous, free of exclusion concerns (protected areas, water management, soil protection). Before the first investment decision come three preliminary checks: grid connection, exclusion layer, owner willingness.

Criteria for suitable land

Criterion	What is good
Topography	flat or gently south/southwest-facing; north-facing unsuitable
Minimum size	~5 ha contiguous (project core), ideally 10–30 ha
Shape	compact, few residual areas; long narrow strips are suboptimal
Grid connection	medium-voltage line or substation within < 2 km
Access	passable access road for construction logistics
Soil	not waterlogged, not extremely rocky
Pre-burdening	privileged sites (brownfield conversion, motorway/rail corridor) preferred — see Permitting

Exclusion layer — where construction is not possible

Naturschutzgebiete (NSG, nature reserves), national parks, FFH (Habitats Directive) and SPA (Special Protection Area) sites: generally excluded.
Landschaftsschutzgebiete (LSG, landscape protection areas): case-by-case assessment, often critical.
Wasserschutzgebiete (water protection zones) Zone I/II: excluded; Zone III subject to conditions.
Überschwemmungsgebiete (flood-risk areas) / HQ100: critical due to structural load and insurability.
High-quality soils (high soil rating points): excluded in some regions under state law, especially for classic ground-mounted PV without an agri-PV concept.
Priority and reserve areas for other uses (raw materials, transport).
Heritage protection / sightlines.

Sequence of project development

Site screening (map analysis with exclusion layers, ideally GIS-supported).
Owner outreach and option/preliminary agreement.
Grid-connection enquiry with the responsible grid operator — primarily medium voltage; for large parks also high voltage. The result caps the maximum plant size.
Site check with the permitting authority (scoping meeting, clarification of concerns).
Commissioning of expert reports (species protection, LBP (landscape conservation accompanying plan), possibly soil report, possibly glare/EIA screening).
Building or B-Plan application (Bebauungsplan, local development plan — depending on privileged status).
EEG auction or PPA negotiation.
Financing (see Financing — analogous to wind, with ground-mounted PV specifics).
Construction and commissioning.

Important: The grid connection is often the tightest bottleneck. An early preliminary enquiry saves months later and is often free of charge — where firm connection reservations carry a fee, the investment is worthwhile if the site shows potential.

Ground-mounted PV site acquisition: 7 suitability criteria (topography, ≥5 ha, compact shape, grid connection <2 km, access road, soil, pre-burdening), exclusion layer (NSG/FFH red, LSG/HQ100 orange, priority areas yellow), 9-step project development with grid connection as the most common bottleneck. Cost up to permit: EUR 50,000–250,000

Site acquisition — suitability criteria, exclusion layer and project development in 9 steps

Frequently asked questions

What does project development up to the permit cost?

In the order of EUR 50,000–250,000 depending on size and complexity, plus the lease-option payments. If the project fails at an advanced stage, these costs are largely lost — which is why thorough front-loading of the preliminary checks is the single most important risk lever.

Who does this in practice?

Specialised project developers (often regional), in combination with GIS service providers, lawyers and engineering firms. On request, we can make introductions.

From what size does a park become economical at all?

Below 2–3 MWp the fixed-cost hurdle (grid connection, planning, expert reports) becomes tight. In the EEG auction, plants from 5 MWp upwards are typically economically attractive.