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The new plant is expected to generate 950,000 kWh of green electricity per year

03/13/2023

Source: Energy & Management Powernews

The green power provider Entega is building its first floating photovoltaic plant on a quarry pond. Already in the summer, construction is to begin.

The floating PV plant in Riedstadt, Hesse, consists of 1,660 solar modules on an area of 4,320 square meters. In an initial expansion stage, it is expected to deliver 930 kW and generate 950,000 kWh of green electricity per year. Entega states the costs in a company release at 1.3 million euros.

"The advantages of solar power plants on bodies of water are immense," explained Jannes Kreis, managing director of Entega subsidiary Energy Project Solutions (EPS), which will realize the plant. Riedstadt's mayor Marcus Kretschmann was also convinced: "Riedstadt is committed to the expansion of renewable energies in many ways and I am very pleased that this innovative technology is being used here in our region for the first time."

The solar plant on a quarry pond belonging to Waschkieswerk Crumstadt GmbH & Co. KG is to cover 65 percent of the company's own energy requirements. The rest will be fed into the distribution network of E-Netz Südhessen. "Energy-intensive gravel plants in particular are ideally suited for floating photovoltaics because the sun shines primarily when gravel and sand are being extracted," Kreis said. Because of the size of the quarry pond, there are plans to expand the plant in the next few years.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are currently about 2.2 million PV systems in Germany. Most are installed on buildings. There are also several thousand solar parks on open spaces. PV systems on bodies of water are the exception.

There are some advantages to this: There are no competing uses, especially for quarry ponds that are closed to the public, as there are with farmland or through potential construction areas. Because of the cooling by the water, the floating plants are also more productive than those on open spaces or roofs.

Author: Günter Drewnitzky