{"id":5524,"date":"2020-10-30T10:34:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T09:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.phoenixcontact.com\/news\/always-nice-and-bright\/"},"modified":"2020-11-11T12:22:18","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T11:22:18","slug":"always-nice-and-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.phoenixcontact.com\/en\/always-nice-and-bright\/","title":{"rendered":"Always nice and bright"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The sun is shining when Christoph Werlitz opens the gates to the Menteroda solar park. It\u2019s weather that\u2019s appropriate for a visit to a plant that produces clean energy in the northern Thuringian municipality at the foot of the Harz Mountains in Germany. And in which an innovative PLCnext control system helps to bring more discipline to the fluctuations of the natural energy source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Solar farm Menteroda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Gemeinde Menteroda<\/a> is actually known for its potash mining, which started here at the beginning of the 20th century and shaped the region for decades. But the mines are no longer active, the huge overburden is renaturalized and the mining is only a memory, which is commemorated with a small museum. Today, the beauties of the World Heritage Wartburg-Hainich<\/a> attract visitors to the region – medieval towns, mighty castles and above all a lot of nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regenerative mix<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

However, all of this is suffering massively from climate change. The extensive coniferous forests cannot tolerate the increasing droughts of recent years, the \u201cwooden gold\u201d of the forestry sector is being destroyed the by bark beetle \u2013 the dynamics of this development is particularly evident in the low mountain ranges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder that, here in particular, there is a great acceptance for renewable energies. ASG Engineering GmbH<\/a> from Saxony-Anhalt operates the 6.05 MWp solar power plant Menteroda 2. A rooftop system and a large open space make up the overall power plant. The rooftop system was erected on a hall of the local recycling sorting company. Here, trash is sorted and the organic waste is fed into a biogas plant, which is located in the immediate vicinity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n