Groenleven, Dutch solar project developer, which is also a subsidiary of Baywa RE, which is the German renewable energy company, has built a 27.3 MW floating solar power plant on an abandoned sand mining lake in Zwolle City, Upper Aisser Province, Netherlands.

It is said that Bomhofsplas Solar Power Park is the largest solar power park in Europe and outside China. There are 72,000 solar modules supplied by unknown manufacturers, all of which were installed east-west. Willem Biesheuvel, project manager for Groenleven's floating PV project, told Photovoltaic Magazine: "I think the est-west installation method makes the most sense from the point of view of power generation and stability, and we are always using this system. Also, from the point of view of maintenance, cable management, stability, anchorage and ecology, we felt that this was the best approach and we wouldn't adopt any other orientations on any other projects."

In order to examine the long-term effects of floating photovoltaic systems in detail, we will continue to conduct water quality analysis over the next several years.

Biesheuvel explained that the method can be also better able to cope with wind and waves. The solar boats are made up of four large pontoons and a roof like 16 photovoltaic modules were held on the steel frames - eight facing east and eight facing west. "Then, the system will be not affected by the wind," he said. He added that only 24 hectares of surface area would be needed for the plant. "It is common that the installation are faced in the south on land. Much more acre are required for a project of this size."

He says that one another advantage is that only one medium-voltage cable is needed to get from the distance of the floating photovoltaic system to that of the land and the power generated by the plant can be distributed more evenly across the grid. Its electricity will be sold to local residents and businesses by Blauwvinger Energie, the Dutch energy agency.

In July, Baywa Re sold the plant to a consortium composed of the Energiefonds Overijssel, a provincial energy transition fund, Blauwvinger Energie and an unnamed private investor. The construction of the power station started in February 2020.

In the Netherlands, Groenleven has built a 14.5MW floating array near Zvole, a 2MW power station in Weperpolder and an 8MW floating power station in Tynaarlo. With 52,000 hectares of shallow inland waters, the Netherlands has a huge floating PV potential.