On behalf of Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (LEAG) and EP New Energies GmbH (EPNE), the company, as EPC service provider, is implementing by far the largest floating solar park in Germany to date, with a total output of 29.1 megawatts, as part of the “Cottbuser Ostsee” megaproject. The contracts were signed last week. The official go-ahead for construction is scheduled for January 2024, with grid connection planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
The conversion of the former Cottbus-Nord open-cast mine into a 1,900-hectare artificial lake at the gates of the city of Cottbus / Chóśebuz follows the coal extraction that has been operated in the open-cast mine since the 1980s, which ended in 2015. Since 2019, the energy company LEAG has been flooding the former open-cast mine with water from the Spree, the main tributary of the Havel River, and almost half of the water volume has already been discharged.
“For me, the entire Cottbuser Ostsee project is the most exciting and largest project of recultivation of a mining landscape in Europe. The impact on the entire region is huge and I am proud that PFALZSOLAR was commissioned as the technical partner for the realization of the floating PV plant. I would also like to thank our engineering department and the entire team, who planned this technical masterpiece in coordination with our suppliers ZIMMERMANN PV-Stahlbau, module manufacturer DMEGC and inverter partner Huawei,” says Lars Josten, Managing Director of PFALZSOLAR GmbH. “The project is a wonderful example of how we can continue to successfully drive forward the energy transition in Germany by joining forces and combining different technologies.”
The photovoltaic plant installed by PFALZSOLAR is making an important contribution to developing the Cottbuser Ostsee into a model region for sustainable energy supply and is intended to serve as a foundation stone for further renewable 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 is once again demonstrating its expertise in the structural implementation of floating PV plants. In the past, floating plants have already been installed in Germany and the Netherlands.
