(Bloomberg) -- When Benedikt Ortmann first heard about the idea of putting solar panels on water to generate electricity, it seemed like a dangerous scam.
Most Read by Bloomberg
"Every child knows that electricity and water don't go together," says Ortmann, managing director of Munich-based Bewa Ri, one of Europe's largest renewable energy developers.
When Ortmann installed the first series of floating solar panels in 2018, Bayware's business consisted mainly of traditional land-based solar panels. But five years later, the company is Europe's leading producer of floating photovoltaic cells, also called FPV or "Floating Cells" in technical jargon. While floating solar panels accounted for less than 1% of all panels installed worldwide last year, their deployment has increased by more than 2,000% over the past decade.
And they are increasingly placed in the reservoirs of former quarries and stone mines, as well as in the lagoons of hydropower plants.
One of the drivers of this change has been the growing adoption of rooftop solar panels in Europe over the past two decades, which has put pressure on the search for new renewable energy properties. Later attempts to build on the land were thwarted by opposition from farmers and local residents, who regretted that the slabs would spoil their view. "Agriculture still sees solar panels as a threat in competition for the same land," says Mattias Taft, CEO of Bewa Ri.
Floatovoltaic avoids this problem and is able to give life to neglected objects. "Most of these former gravel and sand pits are no longer used. It's low-hanging fruit," Taft said.
Bayware has already installed floating solar panels capable of generating half a gigawatt of electricity in Europe and Asia and is currently exploring new locations in South America. The total design capacity is currently 28 gigawatts – a peak output equivalent to dozens of nuclear reactors – and the company hopes to triple that by 2025.
Also read: German renewable energy developer prepares for potential IPO
To meet the growing demand for FPV, European governments, corporations and utilities are looking to undeveloped industrial areas for available tanks. At the top of the list are ponds and lakes that do not attract many visitors and have stable water levels that do not disappear under snow in winter.
Access to infrastructure and proximity to human settlements are also important. "Currently, the main obstacles to building solar power in Europe are the lack of space with easy connection to the grid and land permits," says Jenny Chase, analyst at BloombergNEF.
The World Bank estimates that Europe could supply at least 7% of its annual electricity consumption by installing floating solar panels on just 10% of the surface of an artificial lake. Globally, the amount of electricity produced will increase to 5,211 terawatt hours per year, more than the total annual electricity consumption of the world's largest economy, the United States.
Austria, home to the largest photovoltaic system in Central Europe, has introduced special subsidies for floating photovoltaic systems and other innovative projects that combine electricity production with ecological or agricultural purposes. Scientific studies show that FPVs improve water quality by reducing algal blooms. The panels can help conserve water during periods of drought by reducing evaporation and sunlight penetration.
Austria's climate and energy minister, Leonor Gewessler, said small countries "must be smart" when it comes to innovative solutions for generating clean energy. The Netherlands has the largest number of floating solar systems in Europe and interest is growing in Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK.
Austria's first floating power plant in Grafenwürth, an hour west of Vienna, is an example of what a green future could look like. Surrounded by farmland and adjacent to a sand and gravel operation, the former mine was developed by Bewa Re, local energy supplier EVN AG and the city administration. After two years of planning, it took workers just two months to install the 24.5 MW modules and the plant went live in February.
On a cloudy July day, a specially designed pontoon and inverter floated in 15 m (49 ft) of water. Long grass grew along the shore and a boat was used near the dock when technicians needed to go ashore to check their equipment. The 45,000 modules powering Grafenwurth cover an area the size of 20 football fields and generate enough energy to power 7,500 homes on a sunny day. An additional potential lies in the hundreds of dams scattered across the Danube floodplains, created by the extraction of high-quality sand. See also: Solar farms at sea - another advance in clean energy
According to the Fraunhofer Institute, developers are also looking at former coal mines in neighboring Germany that could have up to 2.7 gigawatts of floating solar power. In May, German coal mining company LEAG AG announced plans to install photovoltaic panels on an artificial lake southeast of Berlin.
Old coal regions are "ideal" for the technology, says Dominique Guijou of EP New Energies GmbH, which is overseeing efforts to green the Kotbüser Ostsee, once a coal mine in Germany's former fossil fuel economy. with a power of 29 MW. When the project is completed in 2024, it is expected to be the largest photovoltaic power generator in Europe.
But even if the power generated by FPV more than doubles every year, Bayware doesn't believe the European FPV market will be fully operational just yet. There is still a lot of red tape and environmental license verification can take longer than for land-based solar panels. However, the company believes that regulators will have until 2025 to familiarize themselves with the technology and approve more applications for floating solar systems.
And once permission is granted, things move quickly. The installation of 1.5 MW of new power capacity in a former mine in Austria took just 50 working days.
"There was a lot to learn the first time," says Benedikt Kammerstetter, who managed the project during the two-month installation.
“But now it's just cut and pasted. It's quick and easy.
Most Read in Bloomberg Business Week
© 2023 Bloomberg LP
