Erdgas Südwest and Fraunhofer ISE continue investigation on the impact of floating PV on water bodies

In the coming months, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE will undertake investigations into the effects of a floating photovoltaics (FPV) system operated by German energy supplier Erdgas Südwest GmbH on a quarry pond in Leimersheim (Rhineland-Palatinate). The measurement campaign, which is scheduled to last one and a half to two years, is intended to determine how the occupation of around eight percent of the surface of the 18-hectare lake with solar modules affects water quality.
The research institute had already carried out similar analyses for an FPV plant of Erdgas Südwest in Renchen (Baden-Wuerttemberg). The results, which have been available since May, »suggest that up to a surface occupancy of ten percent, hardly any effects on the lake are to be expected,« says Konstantin Ilgen from Fraunhofer ISE. Overall, the investigations should provide information about the best possible ratio of solar module and water surface in order not to impair the water body with an FPV system or »in the best case even to achieve positive effects for the water quality.«
Parallel to the Fraunhofer ISE studies, another research project is underway in which the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is investigating the effects of the FPV system on the biology of the quarry pond. Results on this are expected in 2024.
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