For more than a decade now the professional lives of Ove Petersen and Heiner Gärtner, who met in college, have revolved around energy generation and sunlight.

While on vacation in 2003, the two men hit upon the idea of building their own PV installation, which originally was conceived of as a rooftop system. But instead, in 2004 gp solar (later GP JOULE) founders Petersen and Gärtner realized a seven hectare ground-based PV installation, which they financed themselves and which turned out to be the beginning of a highly productive partnership. Their PV installation also broke the world record for the world’s largest thin cell system in the megawatt class. Only a year later, in 2005, Petersen and Gärtner broke their own record in this regard. 

In addition to regular realization of PV projects, since 2004 the two men have also realized the planning for three biogas plants. 

Whereas at first the company’s solar portfolio was limited to planning, construction supervision planning, financing and management services, in late 2008 mounting and general contractor services, which had heretofore been farmed out, were added to the company’s range of services. Branches were established in Geislingen and Augsburg, which formed the basis for gp solar, whose name was changed in 2010 to GP JOULE to reflect the company’s expanded portfolio. 

Today, with locations in both northern and southern Germany, GP JOULE is eminently fit to face future challenges. The company’s business division is located in Reußenköge, while the technical operations of the PV division are realized in Geislingen. The head office of GP JOULE’s Future Concepts division, which specializes in construction supervision planning and approval procedures and is also the company’s “concept generator,” is in Buttenwiesen, and is also represented by a branch in Augsburg. 

GP JOULE is also involved in joint ventures in Toronto, Los Angeles and France.