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Germany has potential for up to 2,500 MW on artificial waters
18.07.2024
Germany has great potential for floating photovoltaics. An analysis by RWE and Fraunhofer shows that up to 2,500 MW of solar power could be installed on artificial bodies of water.
To date, 21 MW of photovoltaic systems have been installed on artificial bodies of water in Germany. A further 62 MW have been approved or are currently under construction. However, according to an analysis by RWE and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the potential of so-called floating PV is significantly higher, as the two partners in the "PV 2 float" research project announced on July 18.
The potential is therefore 1,800 MW (south-facing solar modules) or 2,500 MW (east-west facing), which could be installed on Germany's artificial lakes.
A study team from RWE and Fraunhofer ISE analyzed artificial bodies of water in terms of the technical feasibility of floating PV and compliance with the requirements of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and the Water Resources Act. These stipulate that a maximum of 15 percent of a body of water's surface may be covered with solar installations and that a distance of at least 40 meters from the shore must be maintained.
Another premise: close to the medium voltage
Furthermore, the scientists only considered artificial lakes that are not located in protected areas such as nature reserves or biosphere reserves and are a maximum of 5 kilometers away from feed-in points into the medium-voltage grid.
There are 6,043 artificial lakes in Germany with a size of at least 1 hectare. Together they cover an area of more than 90,000 hectares. Most of them are located in Saxony and Baden-Württemberg. Around 70 percent of them are gravel pits. The study also examined reservoirs, retention basins, dams and mining lakes.
"Under these conditions, we arrive at an economically and practically viable floating PV potential for Germany of 1.8 gigawatt peak for PV installations with a south-facing orientation or a potential of 2.5 gigawatt peak if the floating PV systems had an east-west orientation," explains Karolina Baltins, Head of the Floating Photovoltaics thematic field at Fraunhofer ISE.
The potential analysis is part of the "PV 2 float" research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK) .
Author: Heidi Roider
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
