Czech Republic’s first floating PV plant
Czech Republic: Czech utility CEZ Group has completed construction on a 22 kW pilot floating photovoltaic project.
Image source: PV Magazine
Czech Republic: Czech utility CEZ Group has completed construction on a 22 kW pilot floating photovoltaic project.
It is located on the upper reservoir of its pumped-hydro storage power plant in Štěchovice, in Central Bohemia.
The pilot facility is located at different heights during the charge and recharge cycles of the pumped-hydro plant and the difference in height may reach up to nine meters.
The east-west oriented photovoltaic system was built with air-filled floats with a carrying capacity of over six tons. The floats, and several rails attached to the walls of the pumped-hydro facility, are intended to maintain the system stably against adverse weather conditions and the water’s vertical movement, CEZ Group said in a statement.
“There are great expectations for the deployment of photovoltaics on suitable water areas but only reality will show what we can achieve in Czechia,” it further explained. “If the pilot installation in Štěchovice will convince us, we would like to increase its output five times in the summer,” said Jan Kalina, member of the board of directors and director of CEZ’s renewable and classic energy division.
Source: PV Magazine