WIRSOL Solar AG () is an international
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
provider, specialized in the planning, financing, construction and maintenance of solar power plants of any size. The headquarters of the company is in Germany. Further company offices are located in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
.
History
The company was founded in
Waghäusel
Waghäusel (, ; South Franconian: ''Woghaisl'') is a town located in the Rhine valley in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Waghäusel consists of 3 townships which are the core town (1236 residents), Kirrlach (9347 resident ...
(District of
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
in Germany) in February 2003 by Markus Wirth, Hans Wirth and Stefan Riel as the "Hausrenovierer GmbH", where the headquarters of the firm are also located. Having specialized in the area of
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
, the firm was renamed "Wirth Solar AG" in January 2004 and from this arose the name "Wirsol Solar AG" in 2007. In the same year, the company opened the Bruhrain solar test park in close proximity to the company premises. A total surface area of 12 hectares made it the biggest solar park in the stare of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
at the time. With 31,000 modules installed, the plant generates an output of up to 2.258 MWp and provides 500 households with electricity. This corresponds to a yearly CO
2 saving of around 1300 tons.
![Wirsol Solartestpark Bruhrain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Wirsol_Solartestpark_Bruhrain.png)
In 2010, the board of directors was expanded by company founders Markus Wirth and Stefan Riel. Since then, Bernd Kästner has been the chief financial officer. Nikolaus Krane, previously part of the
Conergy
Conergy was a multinational renewable energy company headquartered in Singapore. It was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 2000 by former CEO Hans-Martin Rüter, and specialized in the development, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power plant ...
board, oversees international financial products, large-scale project financing and international marketing and communication. In April 2010, Wirsol installed a photovoltaic system at the German Formula One race track
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...
with a rated output of 848.88 kWp. Along the 405 m-long race tracks, 4716 solar modules were installed.
In 2011, the solar energy company generated a turnover of 317 million Euros. Wirsol finalized one of its largest projects in this financial year in
Mixdorf
Mixdorf is a municipality in the Oder-Spree district, in Brandenburg, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and t ...
, in
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. The company built a system with a peak performance of 24.1 MWp on the 81-hectare site of a former Russian fuel depot. Likewise, in 2012, Wirsol connected the high-output
Luckau
Luckau (Lower Sorbian: ''Łuków'') is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia".
Origin of the name
The name appears to be a loca ...
Solar Park (with almost 21 MWp) to the grid on a conversion site in Brandenburg. The solar power plant originated from the former military airport called Alteno. As a result, over 4500 households can be provided with energy.
On a global level, Wirsol is responsible for the installation of over 6200 solar systems with a total output of 440 MWp. Systems in operation reach a total CO
2 saving of over 180,000 tons per year.
So as to further promote good business relations with Asia, Wirsol co-founder Stefan Riel relocated to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
as the first top-manager of the German solar sector and created a company location in China with Wirsol Solar Technology Beijing Ltd. In June 2012, Wirsol opened a location in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
in Malaysia to coordinate activities in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
.
Between October 2013 and January 2014, several subsidiaries of the company Wirsol Solar AG initiated insolvency proceedings. Assets including the brand name were acquired by Wircon GmbH (founded by
Dietmar Hopp
Dietmar Hopp (; born 26 April 1940) is a German software engineer and billionaire businessman. He was one of the founders of SAP SE in 1972 with other former IBM employees Hans Werner Hector, Klaus Tschira, Claus Wellenreuther and Hasso Platt ...
) in March 2014.
In 2014, WIRSOL Energy Ltd. was founded in the United Kingdom by Mark Hogan, alongside Markus Wirth and Peter Vest (of WIRCON GmbH), separate to the previous ventures under WIRCON GmbH, and previous entity Wirsol Solar AG.
International projects
In 2012, the company founded the
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
named "Wirsol RE Maldives" with REM (Renewable Energy Maldives), where solar power stations have already been installed on six of the Maldive islands and where electricity is supplied to schools and hospitals. Further significant international projects have been finalized by Wirsol in Spain (
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Bovera
Bovera is a village in Catalonia in Spain. The village is in the comarca (county) of les Garrigues in the region of Lleida. Bovera is close to the town of Flix. The usually dry River Cana valley leads to the Ebre river
, name_etymology = ...
), Italy (
Mola di Bari
Cathedral.
Mola di Bari, commonly referred to simply as Mola ( Barese: ), is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, in the region of Apulia, in Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea.
In recent times, the town was best known for ...
), Belgium (
Schilde
Schilde () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With ...
), (
Jambes
Jambes (; wa, Djambe) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the city of Namur, located in the province of Namur, Belgium.
It was formerly a municipality itself until the fusion of Belgian municipalities in 1977.
Jambes is known for the for ...
) and
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
(Fort Collins). In 2013, the company announced the start of construction of a solar park on the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
island of
Honschu and the starting signal for the
Monte Plata
Monte Plata is a town and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') and the capital city, capital of the Monte Plata Province, Monte Plata Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Dominican Republic. It in ...
solar park on the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
. In 2015, the company built the
Lerchenborg
Lerchenborg is a manor house located 4 km south of Kalundborg on the west coast of Zealand, Denmark.
History Origins
The estate was established by Carl von Ahlefeldt when he closed down the village of Østrup to establish Østrupgård in 1704 ...
solar park (61 MWp), the largest solar park in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
. In January 2017, the company announced the commissioning of the largest solar park in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
with a total output of 30 MWp.
In March 2017 Wirsol entered the Australian market with investments of $380 million and the establishment of a subsidiary with an office in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. As for 2020, projects in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
include large-scale solar farms and battery storage solutions including, Wemen Solar Farm, (Wemen, Victoria), Clermont Solar Farm (Clermont, Queensland), Whitsunday Solar Farm (Collinsville, Queensland), Hamilton Solar Farm (Collinsville, Queensland), Gannawarra Solar Farm (Kerang, Victoria) and Gannawarra Energy Storage System (Kerang, Victoria). In April 2017, the company was able to report the connection of 19 solar parks. The 19 solar sites in England and Northern Ireland each generate between 20.5 MWp and 2.5 MWp and deliver a total of 105.5 MWp of energy. In March 2018, Wirsol Energy and Edify Energy were awarded a state tender for large storage systems in Australia.
Sponsoring
From 2011/2012
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
football season, Wirsol Solar AG has been the official sponsor of
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg.
Originally founded in 1899 ...
. In
Sinsheim
Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar.
Geograph ...
, Wirsol gave the
Wirsol Rhein-Neckar Arena its name. This is where 1899 Hoffenheim hold their home games. Since the second half of the 2019/20 season, the stadion got a new naming partner. The former Wirsol
Rhein-Neckar-Arena
Rhein-Neckar-Arena (), currently known as PreZero Arena and previously as Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts t ...
is now called PreZero Arena, which is a brand of German Green Cycle GmbH.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirsol Solar AG
Solar energy in Germany
Technology companies of Germany
Companies based in Baden-Württemberg
Renewable energy technology companies
Photovoltaics