{"id":12498,"date":"2025-09-07T07:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T11:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=12498"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:49:35","slug":"germany-produces-energy-above-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/germany-produces-energy-above-water\/12498\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany&#8217;s largest floating solar plant on a post-mining lake produces 29,000 MWh a year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Germany is well-known and highly respected for its inventions. It has registered more patents than any other European country and has become labeled as<strong> a global hub for innovation<\/strong> in technology and engineering, among other things. From hamburgers to cars, and now, Germany produces energy above water, making an approximately 18-year-old concept come true. This latest German creation has significant effects and will definitely be added to the country&#8217;s legacy of groundbreaking inventions.<\/p>\n<h2>Germany&#8217;s commitment to lowering its carbon footprint<\/h2>\n<p>The world has been gradually transitioning to renewable sources in a global attempt to mitigate the effects of climate change. Joining this global transition is Germany, which has shown its<strong> commitment to decarbonize sectors<\/strong> with high emissions, which include the following, as per the OECD:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Transport and residential\n<ul>\n<li>Dependent on fossil fuels for heating and transportation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Industry\n<ul>\n<li>Carbon-intensive sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Energy industries\n<ul>\n<li>Major source, although reductions have been made<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to Bundesregierung.de, there are numerous projects underway to help the country meet its climate target by <strong>decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 55%<\/strong> by 2030. These projects include phasing out coal and pushing for the expansion of renewable energies to achieve climate neutrality. One of Germany&#8217;s latest projects will help it achieve these targets and has made this long-held concept come true.<\/p>\n<h2>Making a floating solar concept come true with this renewable energy design<\/h2>\n<p>While solar power is not a new concept, in the early 2000s, <strong>floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems<\/strong>, or simply floating solar, were. The Japanese floated the idea in 2007 by creating and installing a 20 kW prototype, which was funded by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, according to epcm holdings. Fast forward to 2025, and Germany made this concept come true.<\/p>\n<p>A German company called LEAG and a project developer called EP New Energies have teamed up with Pfalzsolar to create the country&#8217;s &#8220;<strong>largest floating solar plant.<\/strong>&#8221; This plant is located on the eastern shore of the Cottbus Baltic Sea, a post-mining lake. According to Offshore Energy, the 29 MWp plant has an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.offshore-energy.biz\/germanys-largest-floating-solar-plant-starts-assembling-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">annual output of approximately 29,000 MWh<\/a>. The CEO of LEAG, Thorsten Kramer, had this to say about the project:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This project will give LEAG and the region a further boost towards a sustainable future in which energy supply security and climate protection are equally guaranteed.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Germany has shown its commitment to sustainability before, as can be seen with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/germany-completes-largest-energy-build\/11421\/\">the largest wind project built in Germany.<\/a> This floating solar plant will help the country to<strong> achieve its targets<\/strong>, and perhaps inspire others to follow suit. The U.S. has already turned to floating solar plants as well.<\/p>\n<h2>The U.S. has also turned to floating solar plants<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. may have beaten Germany in proving the concept, as the City of Healdsburg completed a 4.78 MW FPV for its Wastewater Treatment Facility. According to the City of Healdsburg Fact Sheet, the FPV will contribute <strong>8% of the city&#8217;s power demands<\/strong> while decreasing harmful algae blooms and improving the water quality for the city&#8217;s recycled water.<\/p>\n<h3>Additional benefits of the FPV design<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Floatation devices are movable, making inspection and reparation to pond liners easier<\/li>\n<li>Has a design life of 25 years, but can operate much longer<\/li>\n<li>Can integrate a utility-scale battery storage system in the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No matter who realized the potential of the FPV design first, these projects prove that floating solar power is<strong> a great solution<\/strong> for regions that have limited space for traditional solar panel installations. They also help contribute to lowering carbon footprints and thus to achieving climate targets. First, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/carpeting-mountains-with-solar-panels\/7658\/\">China carpeted the mountains with solar panels<\/a>, and soon, the rest of the world could cover its outdated lakes or wastewater facilities with solar panels, giving them a new, sustainable purpose.<\/p>\n<p><em>Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Germany is well-known and highly respected for its inventions. It has registered more patents than any other European country and has become labeled as a global hub for innovation in technology and engineering, among other things. From hamburgers to cars, and now, Germany produces energy above water, making an approximately 18-year-old concept come true. This &#8230; <a title=\"Germany&#8217;s largest floating solar plant on a post-mining lake produces 29,000 MWh a year\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/germany-produces-energy-above-water\/12498\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Germany&#8217;s largest floating solar plant on a post-mining lake produces 29,000 MWh a year\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":12499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"energy,floating solar plants","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Germany is a global hub for innovation in technology and engineering, as it has produced energy above water, making a 25-year-old myth come true.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}