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Photovoltaic apiary full of honey

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Photovoltaic apiary full of honey

Let us share with you with our "electric" honey from the Photovoltaic Farms of Polenergia Group in Sulechów. This is the third year of functioning of our apiary and another honey harvest. The apiary has ten hives. Each bee family consists of 50 thousand bees collecting nectar and pollen from the flowers covering the farms' area and from the other melliferous plants growing nearby.

The Sulechów apiary has permanently contributed to the history of solar installations by Polenergia. Our bees appeared at the farms’ area within the few months from commissioning of the first Sulechów I Photovoltaic Farms of the capacity of 8 MWp. In only three years, the Sulechów Commune has become the true photovoltaic valley of the Group. The area of our farms increased from 16 to 61 hectares, while the capacity of all installations peaked to 30 MWp. The planned annual production of pure solar energy in Sulechów will reach nearly 32 GWh, which corresponds to power demand of 16 thousand households and allows to avoid the emission of 27 tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases per annum. The estimated installation life-cycle is even 30 years, while the accumulated power production will reach approx. 860 GWh.

10

bee families in the Photovoltaic Farms in Sulechów

400 kg

of annual bee production in the Sulechów I Photovoltaic Farms

In 2022 we sowed the melliferous plant mixture for flower meadows and pastures on 50 ha of the farm area. In addition, we sowed melliferous clover and scorpionweed. Our diversified land use translated into greater habitat biodiversity. In this way, Polenergia both produces green energy and contributes to establishment of the multi-hectare area supporting local biodiversity and serving as a feeding area for wild pollinators. Our farm acts as a shelter and breeding site for many birds and mammals, including strictly protected species. Our meadow flowers, shrubs and trees provide great benefits to our bees.

Supporting the pollinating insects has a positive impact on the environment and guarantees global food security. Bees and other pollinating insects are of primary importance for our environment. Within the last decades, the pollinators' population has been rapidly shrinking due to loss of habitats, intensified agricultural practices and use of chemical plant protection products, followed by climate change. Decreasing number of pollinators impedes the agricultural production and triggers the risk of limited food supplies.

In our farms, we both operate an apiary and support other insect species. The mounds made of stones and clay are a perfect site for growth of bumblebees and other insects living in soil. In addition, we placed eight insect houses at the farms’ area to enable growth of other pollinating insects.

The apiculture can also act as an important source of income for people living in non-urban areas. Since we support local entrepreneurship, our apiary is managed by a bee keeper living in a vicinity of the farms in Sulechów, who has been developing its apicultural activity.

Biodiversity and care of the future of our planet are the inherent elements of Polenergia’s DNA, which invests in renewable energy sources. In order to effectively tackle the climate crisis and threats to biodiversity on Earth, we have been actively cooperating with many institutions. We are the proud Partner of the #OnlyOneEarth Manifesto announced this year by the United Nations. We have once again involved in the UNEP/GRID-Warszawa initiative – “Green Ribbon #ForthePlanet”. We speak loudly YES for climate education! and sign the UN Global Compact Network Poland call for implementing the comprehensive and reliable education on climate change to schools as soon as possible. We Play Green!® together with the Kulczyk Foundation and organise among others the educational classes on environmental protection and climate change for children attending the elementary schools throughout Poland. We take the actions and encourage the local governments in the locations, in which we expand our investments, to involve in the restoration of ecosystems with full awareness.

Let this spring honey encourage you to pin the Green Ribbon #ForthePlanet with us and join now all these, who care of the good of the nature and environment and take the actions to hold back the degradation of ecosystems. We believe that together we are able to achieve the objectives - in particular the most ambitious ones, since there is one Earth for all of us and that's what we must remember!

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