Green Power Park planned on site of former briquette factory south of Leipzig

South of Leipzig, a combination of data center, green hydrogen production and battery storage is to be built on the site of a former briquette factory. A referendum next Sunday will decide whether the so-called "Green Power Park" will become a reality, says Wolfgang Pielmaier, Managing Director of PV Backoffice GmbH in Neukieritzsch. The company is to manage and finance the project in the Lobstädt district. Pielmaier is also a co-partner in Move On Energy, which operates the nearby Witznitz energy park.

The entrepreneur is confident that the citizens will decide in favor of the project. The "Green Power Park" is to be supplied with green electricity from the second project, the Kleinzössen Energy Park. This is a solar park covering around 85 hectares on a tipping area of a disused open-cast mine. "By combining the Kleinzössen Energy Park with the Green Power Park, we will have the first green data center here," explains Pielmaier. Battery storage systems and hydrogen as long-term storage are also planned.

The establishment of the two projects is expected to create up to 150 jobs. In addition, further new jobs are expected to be created by subsequent relocations.

Some local residents, however, want to prevent the two projects. Among other things, they fear that strictly protected species will become extinct and agricultural land will be lost.

"The fact that very well-founded questions are being asked about how individual sub-areas are being handled is normal. I actually think that's very good," says Pielmaier. He therefore believes it is important to create a balance - either by preserving existing nature or proactively promoting parts of nature. The aim is "added value for people and nature, as well as for the local population".

Which company could take over the data center in the future is still unclear. The tech giant has denied reports that Microsoft could settle here.

According to the Saxon state government, the establishment of a tech company would further promote structural change in the region and also strengthen the IT economy in the state as a whole. In a statement, it said: "The "Green Power Park" project is an investment project that is in line with the industrial and economic policy goals of the Saxon state government".