With a symbolic push of the button, Baden-Württemberg’s Environment Minister, Tanja Gönner (CDU) officially started up one of Baden-Württemberg’s largest solar power generators.  The solar power plant, installed on the rooftop of the distinctive BOSCH parking garage at Stuttgart’s state trade fair grounds (Messe Stuttgart), spans one of Germany’s busiest highways, the A8.  

SunStrom, under contract by Bosch Solar Energy AG, began installation of the 970 kWp solar power plant for the Stuttgart Airport GmbH in September 2009, and completed the system in just 4 months.  Each of the two parking garage “fingers” is outfitted with 8 rows consisting of over 2,000 mono crystalline Bosch solar power modules, for a total of 4,238 modules. The solar power plant will generate approx. 870,000 kWh of eco-friendly energy per year in an area of 7,000 square meters. This is enough energy to supply 250 four-person households annually with power.

The realization of the solar power plant was riddled with challenges.  Architecturally, the parking garage’s two rooftops are three-dimensional masterpieces.  The rooftops are sloped not only over the length of the building (max. 12.6% slope) but also over the width of the garage (max. 7% slope).  The curvilinear rooftops required detailed and exact planning and installation of the system so as to avoid shading of the modules. Additionally, the foundations of the modules had to be specially designed and individually plumbed.  During installation the highway remained open.  It was essential that SunStrom ensure the safety of the automobile traffic passing under the construction site.

After successfully meeting the many challenges such an innovative project poses, the mark has been set for solar power projects in the future.

[11-12-2009]

For the third year straight, SunStrom employees gathered at the track and field complex of the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Freiberg, Germany, from the 4th to the 6th of Sept. 2009 for the 5th annual Run for Nepal.  The Run for Nepal is a 48 hour event organized by the Namaste Nepal Schüler-GmbH under the motto: "Many small steps for our friends in Nepal.“  The runners were sponsored and the monies collected from the Run go to the children of Gati to provide better learning and living conditions.

SunStrom supported the Run again this year as a sponsor. Employees of SunStrom alongside their two General Managers ran their laps.  With 17 team members this year, SunStrom was this year’s sponsor with the most participants. 

After running for 48 hours, over 1,000 participants ran together a total of over 9,000 km, raising almost 25,000 Euros for the Nepal project.

[09/07/2009]

Solar powered audio exhibit – as of the 1st of April 2009, visitors to the Building Ensemble of the Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau in Dresden can listen to the history of the building complex at a solar powered audio post. The audio post presents information not only about the building complex, but also about the Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau, the Festspielhaus Hellerau and the Gartenstadt Hellerau. This trend-setting idea is powered by a stand-alone PV system installed on the roof of the information stand. The information is in German as well as English and complements the image of the building complex, seen as diverse, creative and international. 

The power for the audio post is generated by the smallest PV system installed to date by SunStrom.  The generator has a nominal power of just 150 Wp.

Since its founding in 2000, SunStrom GmbH has been located in the building complex of the former „Deutsche Werkstätten“ in the historic garden city Hellerau – now a quarter within the city of Dresden.  This year, Hellerau is celebrating its 100th anniversary as the first town in Germany, conceptualized and designed to provide a green, healthy living environment for its inhabitants.

SunStrom, founded to promote solar power as a means to help the environment and reduce CO₂ emissions, has specialized from the start in photovoltaics, the conversion of harvested sunlight into electricity.  Therefore, it is only logical that SunStrom chose not only a “green” location for its home office, but also occupies the ensembles Atelier house; an energy efficient building with a 300 square meter roof integrated photovoltaic system.  The systen dominates the building’s envelope on the street side prominently displaying the advantages of solar power.  The solar power system generates more power annually than the tenants of the building ensemble consume and saves the environment ca. 15 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.  SunStrom is committed to reducing the global carbon footprint.

The „4th Symposium of Properties – Facilities – Management“ took place on April 23, 2009 in the Creativ Center Neustadt in Dresden.  The event was organized by the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses and hosted a discussion among the experts, Prof. Dr. Detlev Dähnert (Authorized Officer Vattenfall Europe Mining AG), Dipl.-Ing. Timo Leukefeld (General Manager Soli fer Solardach GmbH) and Dipl.-Phys. Stephan Riedel (General Manager of SunStrom GmbH) as to what the energy mix of the future will and should look like.   

Following the discussion, participants had the opportunity to visit various informative lectures on „Sustainable Building and Technology,“ Energy Efficiency Unified in Production, Distribution and Use“ and „Structural Damage, Property and Building Laws.“  SunStrom’s Stephan Riedel spoke on “Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)” in the area of “Energy Efficiency.”  BPIV is a viable alternative for buildings subject to historic conservation laws and it also provides an elegant and visually pleasing renewable energy alternative in modern architecture.

From the 26th of February to the 1st of March 2009, SunStrom occupied a booth at the HAUS 2009 Trade Fair.  The HAUS trade fair is the largest regional builder’s show in Germany and is located in the new MESSE Dresden. SunStrom’s info booth offered its visitors a look at various mounting systems for photovoltaic systems. 

The SunStrom booth was of particular interest for the high school seniors attending the workshop “Climate and Energy” sponsored and organized by the Jugendinitiative Demokratie e.V. in honor of “Youth Day 2009.”  General Manager, Dipl.-Phys. Stephan Riedel informed the students from various German high schools about photovoltaic systems and provided them with some insight as to how solar power is generated. 

[03-02-2009]