Independent power producer O&L Nexentury Group will develop what it terms will be the largest floating solar PV plant in Germany with 15 MW capacity on a gravel pit lake. It will supply approximately 16 GWh of clean energy for Philipp & Co KG's gravel plant in Karlsruhe in the State of Baden-Württemberg.
The project on Lake Philippsee will cover only 15% or 8.2 hectares of the water surface area of the active gravel quarry with 27,160 solar modules. O&L has secured a water rights permit from the District Administration Office of Karlsruhe for the Philippsee project to start construction on site in Q3/2023 and operate the project for 25 years.
Located about 20 km south of Heidelberg in the Municipality of Bad Schönborn, the entire Philippsee lake area spans more than 60 hectares. It offers immense scope to supply energy generated by floating solar systems to Philipp & Co KG throughout the year for its gravel works in the area.
The gravel activity already has an electricity infrastructure in place which will come in handy for the floating PV system. As per the various supply scenarios envisioned, the partners expect the project to supply solar power for the gravel works even in December – the month with the weakest yield for the PV system, leaving production surplus in summer which is then fed into the grid.
The solar energy generated will be enough to supply over 5,000 households and help bring down around 11,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.
A July 2022 study by Fraunhofer ISE estimated up to 1.07 GW floating solar potential for the state of Baden-Württemberg due to the presence of quarry lakes (see GW-Level Floating Solar Potential In Baden-Württemberg).
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