Floating Solar Plant Installed at Mortkasee Artificial Lake

In a joint project between RWE, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU), 190 floating solar modules have been installed on the Mortkasee artificial lake in Lohsa, Saxony. 

The collaboration is aimed at investigating the extent to which floating solar islands can be implemented and operated in harmony with aquatic ecology. The project is being sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Three different floating solar islands have been installed on the Mortkasee, with a rated capacity of 30 kW each. While these are relatively small islands, the collaboration hopes they can provide insights into future scaled-up floating solar installations. 

The research plant on the Mortkasee is scheduled to operate through 2027.