Switch-on party of the EWS Sonnenfeld Höhnhart

With the commissioning of the Agri-PV system on the land owned by Andreas Preishuber and Manfred Ornter, another Innviertel EWS Sonnenfeld® is connected to the grid and feeds 2.9 million kWh of solar power into the grid every year. That is regionally generated, renewable electricity for around 820 households. Farmer Andreas Preishuber took the initiative for this. In dialogue with the mayor, the idea quickly became a concrete plan and contact was established with EWS. Together with local councillors who supported the project and EWS, the opening was celebrated on 19 May 2026. 

As a big PV fan, landowner Andreas Preishuber sees clear advantages in tracking solar panels: "We have been using solar power from our PV roof system to supply our own electricity for many years. We've also had two of our own tracked 2-axis trackers on our farm for 13 years. The tracking system has convinced us and we can also see that it is economically viable. That was the foundation stone. Instead of expanding the trackers, we decided together with Manfred Ortner to make our land available for a solar field. This means we can continue to cultivate most of the fields, generate solar power at the same time and benefit from additional income in addition to farming." 

Mayor Erich Priewasser is equally convinced of the dual-use concept: "As mayor and also as a farmer, I am firmly convinced that solar fields are the future for many communities and an important key to our prosperity. They offer us the opportunity to continue farming sustainably and have an excellent energy balance." Priewasser also sees agri-PV systems as a great opportunity for an attractive infrastructure offering for municipalities: "In addition to households, our industrial and commercial businesses in particular need cheap electricity, otherwise many jobs could move abroad. And we certainly don't want that! Nowadays, every municipality is required to make a contribution to the provision of affordable, stable and locally generated renewable energy."

Norbert Dorfinger, PV Business Area Manager at EWS, confirms that farmers and municipalities are increasingly focussing on agrivoltaics. "The advantages are obvious - double use is double gain. In times of changing climatic conditions, the protective function of PV modules for crops, which has a positive effect on soil moisture, is also seen as an advantage."

EWS Sonnenfeld projects in the Braunau district - popular and in demand

Alina Mirwald, a partner at EWS, is full of praise for the showcase district of Braunau: "The agri-PV and wind energy projects that have already been realised and are currently being planned and implemented in our home district give us great pleasure. Braunau understands what regional value creation means and is doing everything right when it comes to promoting regionally generated, renewable energy supply!"

It is above all the personal initiatives of landowners, municipalities and various operators that make the projects possible in the first place, which is great. "Demand is constantly increasing and we are delighted to be able to support projects as a regional expert from the initial idea through to approval and realisation. We can also supply site-optimised turnkey agri-PV systems including large-scale battery storage systems on request. If the state of Upper Austria now also releases the handbrake on the expansion of renewable energies and pursues a stringent plan for this, we can write a success story together. We are certainly ready for it!"

With the increasing number of renewable energy projects being realised, the district is also becoming more attractive as a business and industrial location. In addition to solar power generation, the expansion of wind power in Upper Austria is also necessary in order to fill the winter electricity gap with domestically generated, clean and cost-effective electricity and to cover the district's electricity demand of ~ 1,020 GWh over the entire year. 

The Agri-PV concept from EWS with tracked trackers convinces with smart dual utilisation and 20% more yield compared to rigid mounting. Read more about the EWS Sonnenfeld Höhnhart