physics

Wirsol

Wirsol is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wirsol rather than just read about it. In short: WIRSOL Solar AG (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪʁzɔl zoˈlaːɐ̯ ʔaːˈɡeː]) is an international solar energy provider, specialized in the planning, financing, construction and maintenance of solar power plants of any size. The headquarters of the company is in Germany.

Key takeaways

Wirsol belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wirsol to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wirsol from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WIRSOL Solar AG (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪʁzɔl zoˈlaːɐ̯ ʔaːˈɡeː]) is an international solar energy provider, specialized in the planning, financing, construction and maintenance of solar power plants of any size. The headquarters of the company is in Germany. Further company offices are located in Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, USA, China, Malaysia and the Maldives.

History The company was founded in Waghäusel (District of Karlsruhe in Germany) in February 2003 by Markus Wirth, Hans Wirth and Stefan Riel as the "Hausrenovierer GmbH", where the headquarters of the firm are also located. Having specialized in the area of photovoltaics, the firm was renamed "Wirth Solar AG" in January 2004 and from this arose the name "Wirsol Solar AG" in 2007. In the same year, the company opened the Bruhrain solar test park in close proximity to the company premises. A total surface area of 12 hectares made it the biggest solar park in the stare of Baden-Württemberg at the time. With 31,000 modules installed, the plant generates an output of up to 2.258 MWp and provides 500 households with electricity. This corresponds to a yearly CO2 saving of around 1300 tons.

In 2010, the board of directors was expanded by company founders Markus Wirth and Stefan Riel. Since then, Bernd Kästner has been the chief financial officer. Nikolaus Krane, previously part of the Conergy board, oversees international financial products, large-scale project financing and international marketing and communication. In April 2010, Wirsol installed a photovoltaic system at the German Formula One race track Hockenheimring with a rated output of 848.88 kWp. Along the 405 m-long race tracks, 4716 solar modules were installed. In 2011, the solar energy company generated a turnover of 317 million Euros. Wirsol finalized one of its largest projects in this financial year in Mixdorf, in Brandenburg. The company built a system with a peak performance of 24.1 MWp on the 81-hectare site of a former Russian fuel depot. Likewise, in 2012, Wirsol connected the high-output Luckau Solar Park (with almost 21 MWp) to the grid on a conversion site in Brandenburg. The solar power plant originated from the former military airport called Alteno. As a result, over 4500 households can be provided with energy. On a global level, Wirsol is responsible for the installation of over 6200 solar systems with a total output of 440 MWp. Systems in operation reach a total CO2 saving of over 180,000 tons per year. So as to further promote good business relations with Asia, Wirsol co-founder Stefan Riel relocated to Beijing as the first top-manager of the German solar sector and created a company location in China with Wirsol Solar Technology Beijing Ltd. In June 2012, Wirsol opened a location in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to coordinate activities in Southeast Asia. Between October 2013 and January 2014, several subsidiaries of the company Wirsol Solar AG initiated insolvency proceedings. Assets including the brand name were acquired by Wircon GmbH (founded by Dietmar Hopp) in March 2014. In 2014 the WIRSOL Solar AG had to file for insolvency. WIRSOL Energy Australia was founded in 2017 and sold in February 2023. WIRSOL Energy Limited (UK) was founded in 2014 and realised several solar parks.

International projects In 2012, the company founded the joint venture named "Wirsol RE Maldives" with REM (Renewable Energy Maldives), where solar power stations have already been installed on six of the Maldive islands and where electricity is supplied to schools and hospitals. Further significant international projects have been finalized by Wirsol in Spain (Barcelona, Bovera), Italy (Mola di Bari), Belgium (Schilde), (Jambes) and Colorado (Fort Collins). In 2013, the company announced the start of construction of a solar park on the Japanese island of Honschu and the starting signal for the Monte Plata solar park on the Dominican Republic.

Sponsoring From 2011/2012 Bundesliga football season, Wirsol Solar AG has been the official sponsor of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. In Sinsheim, Wirsol gave the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar Arena its name. This is where 1899 Hoffenheim hold their home games. Since the second half of the 2019/20 season, the stadion got a new naming partner. The former Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena is now called PreZero Arena, which is a brand of German Green Cycle GmbH.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wirsol

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wirsol claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wirsol before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wirsol ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wirsol

In research: Wirsol appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wirsol in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wirsol is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Companies based in Baden-Württemberg, Photovoltaics, Renewable energy technology companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wirsol outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wirsol in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wirsol means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wirsol out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wirsol in simple terms?

Why does Wirsol matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wirsol?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wirsol.