Germany's Former Soviet Firing Ranges Transformed into Solar Parks Face Military Reacquisition
Germany's largest former Soviet military firing ranges, once deemed unusable due to unexploded ordnance, have been successfully converted into significant solar parks since 2009. Developers paid rent in the form of bomb disposal, clearing only the surface for solar panel installation. The Lieberose solar farm, for instance, became Germany's largest and the world's second-largest at its launch in 2009, with 700,000 thin-film modules. However, the German army has now frozen the handover of 187 former military properties for civilian use, including some of these solar sites, to evaluate their potential return to Bundeswehr control. As of June 2026, 174 sites are under review, and five bases are already being reactivated, signaling a shift in land use policy driven by Germany's rearmament efforts. 
