Floating installation with solar pump

  Our customer located in Saarwellingen (Saarland), Germany, solicited our services for the irrigation of his orchards called “LATZOBSTPLANTAGE”. Well-known in the region to be an innovative leader on the agricultural market, he decided to install floating solar panels for his 10 hectares which require regular water irrigation. Previously equipped with a tractor to power the irrigation system for his fields, the inconvenience of such a system led this farmer to install a new solution, more practical and sustainable which also minimizes the impact on the ecosystem. Thanks to the installation of our floating PV on his pond, he can now fully benefit from an efficient and ecological solution with remote access for monitoring and control.

The 16 photovoltaic panels installed by our team in June 2021, represent 50 m² of the total water surface of 1300m². This system has an output of 5.280 kW, ensuring the water demand of the cultivable surface. The solar pump transports water from the pond through a 550 meters pipe and an elevation gain of 40 meters. This water then feeds a 10, 000 m³ retention pond.

Floating solar farms offer a wide range of advantages. These floating solar panels avoid the mobilization of the client's cultivable lands and also reduce natural water evaporation.  The cooling provided by the water improves the performance of the panels, thus avoiding the overheating of the installations for an optimal production. Thanks to his 16 floats and their 100 kg support capacity each, the customer can easily circulate on the footbridge and is able to carry out maintenance of the panels if necessary. This floating installation can also withstand extreme weather conditions. The 15° inclination of the panels provides a self-cleaning effect, also preventing snow stagnation in winter.

Our FPV solution not only enables long-term cost optimization but also allows our farmer to pursue his sustainability convictions.