Eco Wind, a subsidiary of the project developer and solar wholesaler Baywa RE, has set up a large floating solar system together with the Lower Austrian energy supplier EVN. According to the project partners, with an output of 24.5 megawatts, it is currently the largest floating PV system in Central Europe and the fourth largest in Europe. Only three plants in the Netherlands are larger so far.
Special system developed
For the solar system, Eco Wind and EVN use two lakes from a former sand and gravel pit north of Grafenwörth, a small market town just 20 kilometers north-west of Vienna. The fitters from Eco Wind installed a total of 45,304 modules on a special mounting system developed by Zimmermann PV-Stahlbau on the roughly 14-hectare body of water. This, in turn, is mounted on floating bodies that are anchored one below the other on the water surface, creating a complete module surface. This is protected by breakwaters so that the water cannot hit the facilities.
Check sustainability
In the future, the floating solar park will supply around 26,700 megawatt hours of green electricity every year – enough to supply 7,500 Austrian households with green energy. “We are thus creating added value for otherwise unused water areas and want to establish them in other regions worldwide,” says Benedikt Ortmann, Head of Solar Projects at Baywa RE, with a view to floating PV technology. “With the turnkey floating PV project in Grafenwörth, we have further improved the systems that have already been successfully implemented in the Netherlands. Together with EVN and our Austrian subsidiary Eco Wind, we were able to install the system in record time – without compromising on environmental protection. Biodiversity and sustainability are a key issue for us in all floating PV projects.”
Because in order to ensure that the facility is optimally integrated into the surrounding ecosystem, the fish stocks and the local dragonfly fauna will continue to be examined regularly over the next few years.
Seven meters difference in height
The construction of the plant was not without hurdles. “In Grafenwörth, the challenge was to establish an approval process for a new photovoltaic application in Austria and to ensure safe construction – which we managed to do even with a height difference of seven meters between the assembly area and the water,” explains Johann Janker, Managing Director of Eco Wind. “The advantages of floating PV are not just quick installation and easy maintenance, but also a higher electricity yield thanks to the cooling effect of the water. This makes the technology very attractive for landowners of unused bodies of water,” emphasizes Janker. (see below)
