Vattenfall continues to expand the generation of electricity from solar energy in Germany and is now starting to install a photovoltaic system at the Markersbach pumped storage plant (PSW) in Saxony, the company announced in a press release.
11,000 solar modules installed on the dam
In the coming weeks, around 11,000 solar modules with a capacity of 4.3 megawatts (MW) will be installed there on the dam of the PSW's upper basin. Vattenfall expects that the annually produced amount of solar power "Made in Erzgebirge" will meet the annual demand of up to 1,500 average German households, the press release continues.
Projects awarded in a tendering round
Also this year, the company would like to install a further PV system in addition to the existing system at the PSW Geesthacht site in Schleswig-Holstein. The new plant has a capacity of 2.4 MW. In addition, Vattenfall already uses roof areas of the PSW Markersbach, so that now a total of seven MW of new photovoltaic capacity at the hydropower plants is under construction or in planning, the company announced. The dam projects in Markersbach and Geesthacht were awarded a grant by the Federal Network Agency in a previous PV tendering round.
Using already existing technical infrastructure
"The locations of our pumped storage facilities offer good conditions for the construction of photovoltaic systems. And the use of already existing technical infrastructure leads to synergies that also favor the economic efficiency of solar power," Claus Wattendrup, head of the Solar & Batteries business unit at Vattenfall is quoted as saying.
Environmental compatibilty
When planning photovoltaic systems, the company emphasizes environmental compatibility, the company stated. In Markersbach, for example, the modules are arranged on the dam in such a way that they are visible as little as possible from surrounding viewpoints in the region.
The PV Hydro project was also an example of how the existing and new energy worlds could be sensibly linked. Vattenfall is currently supplementing existing locations with photovoltaics, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. (hcn)
