PFALZSOLAR announces a significant milestone in its 20-year history: the contract to build a floating photovoltaic (PV) facility, considered the largest pilot project of its kind in Germany.
On behalf of Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (LEAG) and EP New Energies GmbH (EPNE), PFALZSOLAR will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) provider for the largest floating solar park in Germany, with a total capacity of 29.1 megawatts. This project is part of the comprehensive “Cottbuser Ostsee” initiative. The contracts were recently signed, and construction is set to commence in January 2024, with a planned grid connection in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The “Cottbuser Ostsee,” a nearly 1,900-hectare artificial lake located near the city of Cottbus/Chóśebuz, is being created from the former Cottbus-Nord open-pit coal mine, which ceased coal production in 2015. Since 2019, LEAG has been filling this former mining site with Spreewasser, and nearly half of the water volume has already been successfully introduced.
The photovoltaic installation erected by PFALZSOLAR will make a significant contribution to transforming the Cottbuser Ostsee into a model region for sustainable energy supply and will serve as a foundation for additional renewable energy projects around the lake.
“Germany’s largest floating solar plant on the largest post-mining lake stands for the future use of the unique land potential of Lusatia and consistently fits into our transformation project GigawattFactory, with which we want to transform Lusatia into a green powerhouse,” says LEAG CEO Thorsten Kramer. “We are delighted to have PFALZSOLAR, a competent and internationally experienced EPC contractor in the solar industry, at our side for this complex
and innovative project. LEAG, the project developer EP New Energies and PFALZSOLAR will successfully realize floating PV on the Cottbuser Ostsee together,” says Kramer.
With the “Cottbuser Ostsee” project, PFALZSOLAR once again demonstrates its expertise in realizing floating PV installations, following successful projects in Germany and the Netherlands.
More information on the project is available at: GigawattFactory | LEAG.de