Vattenfall is installing the company’s first floating solar power farm in Gendringen, Netherlands at the site of operations for a gravel and sand extraction company named Netterden. Equipment used for sorting and processing during the extraction work utilizes around 2.5 million kilowatt-hours per year of electricity. Once the new 1.2 MW floating solar power farm is installed, it is expected it will generate about half of the company’s annual electricity needs. The solar technology will be installed on a floating island in a pond which was created by years of gravel and sand extraction activity. Land is not widely available for solar power installations locally, so floating solar, which is located in small water bodies instead of on land, is quite suitable.
With its primary markets in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, Vattenhall is one of Europe’s leading electricity generators, with over 6.5 million electricity customers. The company also has about 20,000 employees.
Ivo Iprenburg, Business Development Manager Real Estate at Vattenfall, answered some project questions for CleanTechnica.
1. How many solar panels will the PV installation have?
3,140 panels (1.2 MW).
2. How long will it take to complete the installation?
The expectation is in between the middle of Feb. 2020 to the middle of May 2020.
3. What kind of business will use the solar power?
Extraction of sand and gravel.
4. How much might be saved on electricity once the PV installation is complete?
The expectation is 1,158, 403 kWh per year.
5. Which brand of solar panels will be used?
Canadian Solar 380 Wp glass/glass.
6. Do you have other floating solar power projects lined up?
We have a promising pipeline for floating solar.
