No other energy on this earth is available in such abundance as solar energy.

The total solar radiation falling on the continents (approx. 1.2 x 106 exajoules) corresponds to around two thousand times the world's energy consumption in 2023 (approx. 620 exajoules).

Solar energy is available free of charge and solar modules are becoming ever cheaper. So what could be more obvious than utilising this free energy on a large scale?

The sun only shines during the day and especially in the spring and summer months. However, the resulting supply problems are less than generally assumed. The Ruhrverband's plants also consume significantly more electricity during the day than at night. In addition, the Ruhrverband's self-supply concept consists of a mix of different types of electricity (hydropower, sewage gas and photovoltaics).

While sewage gas is converted into electricity evenly throughout the year, the production volumes from hydropower are at their highest in the months when production from photovoltaics is at its lowest. The two power sources therefore complement each other perfectly.

The Ruhrverband is currently running an extensive expansion project for large ground-mounted systems. In this way, the Ruhrverband aims to increase its own solar power generation from the current 1 GWh to over 10 GWh.