German renewables developer BayWa r.e. has sold the 27.4MWp Bomhofsplas floating solar farm, located in the Netherlands, to a Dutch consortium.
Claiming it to be the largest floating solar array outside of China, the project will now change hands. A consortium comprising Dutch solar firm Energiefonds Overijssel, local cooperative Blauwvinger Energie and a private investor has struck a deal to procure it.
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Construction at Bomhofsplas started in February 2020, and BayWa AG board member Matthias Taft said it took just seven weeks from start to finish. It’s built on an 18-hectare sandpit lake at Zwolle and
Around 73,000 PV modules make up the energy generation element of the site, accompanied by 13 floating transformers and more than 192 inverters housed on boats. A bespoke floating solar system was designed in partnership with mounting specialist Zimmermann PV-Stahlbau GmbH especially for such projects in disused quarries, mining pits and reservoirs.
Double glass modules were specifically selected to ensure light continues to reach the water, helping to preserve the lake’s biodiversity. Said panels are also elevated at a specific height to maintain air circulation.
The electricity generated at the site is offered directly to residents and businesses of Zwolle via Blauwvinger Energie, giving them a “tangible stake” in the project, BayWa r.e. said.
“We’re pleased to have sold the park to a local consortium who shares our beliefs in the importance of renewables in securing a sustainable future, and it is great the local community can directly benefit from the power generated,” Benedikt Ortmann, global director of solar projects at BayWa r.e., said.