Overview

• On July 13, Grafrath voters will cast ballots on a citizens’ referendum to advance planning for a 25-hectare free-field photovoltaic park proposed at Mauern’s landscape protection boundary.
• The project was trimmed from an initial 33 hectares after the district authority denied a permit exemption and aims to deliver up to 20 megawatts of solar capacity with panels mounted around 3.3 meters high.
• Supporters—including Fridays for Future, the mayor and most council factions—argue the installation is essential for meeting the district’s 2040 climate-neutrality targets, while a local citizens’ initiative objects to its scale, height and proximity to housing.
• For the referendum to bind the council for one year, at least 20 percent of eligible voters must participate and a simple majority must favor advancing the solar-park planning.
• In parallel, Saxony’s Green Party has tabled a motion in the state parliament to ban converting forest land into photovoltaic sites after about 20 such projects covering roughly 153.6 hectares were proposed or built