German clean technology company SINN Power GmbH has switched on what it says is the world’s 1st vertically installed floating solar PV project with 1.87 MW installed capacity.  

Located on Jais gravel pit in the Starnberg district in Germany’s Bavaria, 2,600 solar PV modules are installed vertically, in an east-west orientation. These are separated by open water corridors at least 4 meters wide.  

SINN Power has deployed its SKipp floating solar system to secure the vertically mounted panels generate power all day while covering little water surface, thus allowing for oxygen exchange and sunlight for the fish. The keel-like structure (up to 1.6 m deep) allows controlled movement in wind and stays stable even when water levels change, it explains. The company plans to offer its SKipp technology for the maritime sector in the future. 

Electrical connection is available via a floating cable system with a central feed-in-point on the shore. With an annual generation capacity of 2 GWh, it is expected to reduce the gravel plant owner’s power consumption by up to 70%.  

The project covers 4.65% of the lake’s surface area, which is well below the 15% limit specified under the German Federal Water Resources Act (WHG). Even if it is expanded by the previously considered 1.7 MW additional capacity under the planning phase, it will still cover only 10% of the surface area.

SINN Power claims that measurements taken before and after installation suggest that water quality has improved since the system was commissioned, showing that the system may actually help stabilize the local ecosystem.