MoorPower

The work package is dedicated to the work process from the planning to the construction of a PV system on a peatland area and the optimisation of this process in the context of peatland. To this end, light simulations and material tests are carried out and old and new findings are documented.

The work package comprises the continuous, scientific monitoring of the Paludi PV systems on the experimental area as well as the optimisation of the system operation. This is not limited to the PV output, but includes the results from WP 3-7.

First of all, areas are selected for the three sub-areas of the experimental site within the entire, externally planned action area and area-specific coordination takes place with all persons to be involved (owners of all sub-areas and affected neighbouring areas). A joint concept for rewetting, PV (and possibly paludiculture) that utilises synergies is being developed for the entire area, in which the necessary measures are coordinated with each other in order to keep interventions to a minimum. Depending on the area, any missing planning steps (e.g., expert reports on species protection) will be developed. The approval procedure for the rewetting must be carried out in parallel with the approval/construction of the PV system; this is followed by the commissioning of the implementation of the rewetting (after construction of the PV system). This involves close coordination with the partners involved from WP 1 and WP 2 (operator, installer and ISE) for the purposes of PV research. WP3 supports the rewetting planning and implementation on the overall measure area, but focuses primarily on optimising the water levels for the three sub-areas of the experimental plant. Depending on the success of the overall measure, we expect a need for readjustments at sub-area level during and even after the first year of overall rewetting.

The aim of this WP is to quantify the water balance of the experimental plant, including all relevant hydrological components. Microclimate, soil hydrology and evaporation are quantified on the implementation area. Based on this, the physical, hydrochemical and geochemical quality of relevant system compartments (groundwater, bog water, peat) will be characterised, hydrogeochemical processes and fluxes identified and the consequences for future developments evaluated.

In this WP, the GHG exchange of a peatland PV system is to be determined for the first time using eddy covariance. The eddy covariance method integrates over the entire site, so that no statements can be made about small-scale differences in e.g., water levels, shading or other natural or technical conditions. For this reason, GHG measurements with manual bonnets will be carried out on the experimental site. In addition, selected study variants are to be integrated into the Germany-wide peatland soil monitoring programme so that a comparison of soil properties and soil movement (medium to long-term proxy for changes in carbon stocks, indicator of soil compaction) with a wide range of sites throughout Germany is possible.

Peat formation occurs when plant biomass build-up exceeds decomposition. Especially for fens, the below-ground biomass is crucial. In addition to the effects of Paludi-PV on biomass, possible changes in phytodiversity will also be investigated here. The focus here is on typical peatland species, which are often endangered due to severe habitat loss. Different installation variants (mounting height, foundations, module types) will be directly compared on the experimental system to determine the best possible variant. The utilisation of the above-ground biomass in paludiculture compared to non-utilisation as peatland PV is included here, as it massively interferes with the competitive relationships in the vegetation and can therefore have expectable effects. The arrangement over a gradient of water levels also allows a higher generalisation of the results. Biomass build-up is quantified using ingrowth cores (below ground) and repeated destructive harvesting (above ground), decomposition using litterbags. Phytodiversity will be assessed by plot-based repeated vegetation surveys.

We expect that Paludi PV systems will primarily influence vegetation composition, biomass build-up and peat formation via the effects of shading. Such studies on peatlands have so far been completely lacking. For this reason, this aspect will be analysed beyond the field studies in controlled pot and mesocosm experiments. The mixture of field studies and experiments in containers carried out in this work package will therefore provide important results on the effect of PV systems in peatlands that have not yet been available. In particular, the carbon acquisition of the different plants, their water utilisation efficiency, their biomass build-up (above and below ground) and potential peat formation will be examined. The results on water utilisation efficiency and peat formation will be compared with the data for an entire facility (WP5).

As part of the WP, various groups of ecologically relevant microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists) and arthropods (especially ground beetles and spiders) are being analysed on the experimental site. An essential first step is to record the initial state of biodiversity in the first year of the project. For this reason, the first samples are taken on the experimental area before the PV systems are installed. The analyses of the organisms in the soil and on the soil surface are carried out in parallel. The succession and seasonal dynamics of biodiversity are measured in the second and third year of the project. The fourth year of the project serves to analyse biodiversity in an integrative manner. This will reveal possible relationships and influences of the soil biome on the biodiversity of organisms on the soil surface. In addition, the results of the ‘RoVer’ project on faunistic investigations at the Großes Bruch site (birds, dragonflies, bats) will be included in the overall evaluation and, if possible, continued. Furthermore, the foundation variants on the material test area will be accompanied by investigations of the microbiome.

Peatland PV offers the opportunity to combine the rewetting of drained peatland with the high contribution margin of photovoltaic land utilisation potential. As experience from other renewable energies (wind power, bio-gas, solar parks) has shown, acceptance within the population (socio-political acceptance), but also among the stakeholders involved and affected (market acceptance and local acceptance) plays a decisive role in the market ramp-up of such a combination. Findings and experiences with other renewable energies must therefore be systematically analysed. Approaches and results from the RoVer project (Thünen Institute) are taken into account here.

Based on the pilot plants, the economic and social impacts of different peatland PV plants in different spatial, social and landscape contexts will be determined in WP 8 and linked to studies on social acceptance. In a suitable case study design, both qualitative and quantitative methods of empirical social research will be used to determine influencing factors of social acceptance in the dimensions of socio-political acceptance, market acceptance and local acceptance. Election experiments are carried out to specifically analyse the influence of selected factors.

This WP provides legal support for the project partners in the design of the plant and support for the planning and approval authorities in the implementation of the relevant procedures. An application-oriented guideline for local and approval authorities will be developed with elements of efficient procedural design. A database of the provisions for peatland PV systems is being set up with recommendations for best-practice application.

Building on successful nationwide networking projects carried out by the project partners on the subject of peatland protection and agri-PV, a nationwide network on peatland PV will be established together with the associated partner KNE. Virtual formats will be used to incorporate information and suggestions for the co-design of research into the network and to share the project partners' knowledge with those involved. In the work package, target group-orientated publications will be developed and widely shared via the project partners' networks. Newly acquired knowledge will be incorporated into the teaching and training activities of the project partners and made available to third parties. Findings will be incorporated into ongoing policy advice.

Project coordination ensures that the transdisciplinary joint project runs according to plan and is responsible for communication with the project executing organisation, all partners involved and contractors, unless explicitly covered in other WPs. It coordinates the joint data collection on the research sites and ensures the targeted exchange between the partners so that the research data fit together in the best possible way and the research activities complement each other synergistically and do not hinder each other (spatial and temporal sampling plans and continuous measurement of environmental parameters). The coordination establishes contact with similar projects worldwide and actively supports external researchers on the MoorPower sites in order to facilitate further complementary research. The coordination continues to maintain contact with the scientific advisory board, informs it about progress and changes in the network and organises regular exchanges with the advisory board.