BayWa r.e. installs 24.5 MWp of floating solar in Austria

German renewables developer BayWa r.e. AG said on Tuesday that it has installed a 24.5-MWp floating solar power system at two disused sand and gravel pit lakes in Grafenwoerth, Lower Austria.

The project was realised by BayWa r.e.’s unit ECOwind and in partnership with Austrian energy supplier EVN.

According to BayWa r.e., Grafenwoerth is the largest floating PV plant in Austria and Central Europe, and the fourth largest in Europe. The first three were also built by BayWa r.e.

The system in Austria is divided into two sections, with solar panels occupying around 14 hectares of water surface. EVN and ECOwind installed a total of 45,304 solar modules in ten weeks time for this project, BayWa r.e. said.

The floating solar farm will generate around 26.7 GWh of electricity per year, or enough to power some 7,500 Austrian households.

BayWa r.e. says it has so far installed 15 floating solar PV projects totalling over 230 MW worldwide, including Grafenwoerth.

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