The German company “BayVa er. E.” (BayWa re), a subsidiary of the international group BayWa, will launch a solar power plant floating in a lake created by a mining quarry, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA. New environmentally friendly technology could help the country break its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
“BaiVa er. E.” said the floating photovoltaic plant (Floating-PV), located in the waters of a lake near the western German town of Haltern am See and designed to generate electricity for the Quartzwerke mining group, will be able to provide 3 megawatts of power equivalent to a normal onshore wind turbine. .
The plant, consisting of 5,800 modules mounted on 360 floating elements, will be operational on May 24.
Germany can produce about 20 gigawatts of solar energy on water, said Tony Weigel, head of the floating photovoltaic department at BayWa re.
Floating photovoltaic systems are environmentally friendly and have the advantage of simpler and faster technology to implement, he added.
Floating solar panels will use space that would otherwise remain unusable. They will save 1,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year compared to the same amount of energy but produced from fossil fuels.
“Floating photovoltaic equipment offers an attractive investment opportunity for raw materials and construction materials companies, which often have empty or only partially used water areas. These areas have huge untapped potential for energy transition,” said Stefan Aurascher, Managing Director, BayWa re Power. Solutions GmbH, cited in message on the company’s website.
BayWa plans to launch 1 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by the end of the year. The company focuses on wind power and also organizes green energy purchase deals for multinational companies.
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“With the new German government aiming to generate 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, newer solar applications such as Agri-PV and Floating-PV are increasingly in focus along with rooftop and terrestrial solar systems. Floating photovoltaics. systems are environmentally friendly and have the advantage of being relatively easy and quick to install, higher potential energy power, thanks to the cooling effect of water and lower operating and maintenance costs Now we hope that the new German government will quickly improve framework conditions for Floating-PV, as already stated in the coalition agreement “, commented Tony Weigel, Head of Floating-PV Product Management at BayWa re.
The parent company BayWa said last month that its profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) jumped 26 percent in 2021 to 267 million euros (290 million dollars), of which 135 million thanks to its subsidiary for renewable energy . Of this, BayWa owns 51 percent and the remaining 49 percent belongs to the Swiss energy infrastructure investor Energy Infrastructure Partners.
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