Europe's largest floating solar farm is about to operate

Solar farm built on Alqueva artificial lake includes 12,000 panels, expected to provide electricity for about 1,500 households.

Europe's largest floating solar farm will start operating in July, expected to produce 7.5 GWh per year, Interesting Engineering reported on May 10. The solar farm was built by the Portuguese company Energias de Portugal (EDP) on the largest artificial lake in Western Europe - Lake Alqueva.

Two tugs transport the solar panels to the installation site.

Two tugs transport 12,000 solar panels totaling the size of four football fields to the construction site. The solar panels will also be connected to a lithium battery that can store 2 GWh of electricity. The farm is expected to provide electricity for about 1,500 households.

Portugal wants to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels as prices rise. Alqueva solar farm has an installed capacity of 5 MW. The cost of a farm to generate electricity is only a third of the cost of a gas-fired power plant, according to Miguel Patena, director of EDP.

Project Alqueva is part of EDP's strategy to become 100% "green" by 2030, according to Ana Paula Marques, EDP board member. Hydroelectricity and renewable energy sources account for 78% of EDP's total installed capacity of 25.6 GW.

In 2017, EDP launched the first pilot floating solar farm project in Europe with 840 panels. The farm was built on the Alto Rabagao Dam to test how hydroelectricity and solar power complement each other. EDP ​​also plans to expand the Alqueva project and build a second floating farm with an installed capacity of 70 MW in April.

Floating solar cells offer significant cost savings because they can take advantage of existing lines connected to the grid, do not take up space on the ground, and take advantage of hydroelectric reservoirs. Many countries have built floating solar farms to produce as much sustainable energy as possible.

Last year, Taiwan built the world's largest floating solar farm with 145,000 panels on Sirindhorn dam, Lam Dom Noi river, bringing a capacity of 45MW. Another prominent example is the world's first floating mountain solar farm at the Lac des Toules reservoir in Valais, Switzerland, at an altitude of 1,800 m above sea level. This farm produces about 800 MWh of electricity per year.