-
Groenleven has installed a 27.3MWac floating solar plant on a former sand extraction lake in Zwolle.
- The plant comprises 72,000 solar modules mounted with a west-east orientation.
- Construction of the plant began in February 2020.
Groenleven, a Dutch solar developer and subsidiary of German renewable energy company Baywa re, has installed a 27.3MWac floating solar plant on a former sand extraction lake in Zwolle, Netherlands. The Bomhofsplas solar park, the largest in Europe and the biggest outside China, comprises 72,000 solar modules mounted with a west-east orientation.
Read also: Floating Solar Panels Could Double Africa’s Hydropower Capacity
According to the developers, the west-east approach allows the modules to handle wind and wave impact better. The orientation also provides additional benefits as it requires only one medium-voltage cable to connect the floating system to land. This results in an even distribution of the electricity generated by the facility into the grid. Dutch energy provider Blauwvinger Energie will sell the power from the floating plants to local residents and businesses.
Construction of the plant began in February 2020. Baywa re has sold the plant to a consortium of investors, including the provincial energy transition fund Energiefonds Overijssel, Blauwvinger Energie and an unnamed private investor last July.
Groenleven has also constructed several floating plants in the Netherlands, including a 14.5 MW plant near Zwolle, a 2 MW facility in Weperpolder and an 8 MW floating plant in Tynaarlo.
The Netherlands’ 52,000ha of shallow inland water afford the country huge floating solar plant potentials.