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The government officials in eastern German Cottbus have paved way for the development of the largest floating solar power plant in Germany. The solar plant will come up on the Cottbus Ostsee lake which is a man-made lake created out of a former open-pit lignite mine. The announcement of the upcoming solar power project has been made by the city’s mayor Holger Kelch alongside energy company LEAG.

The official statement held that with the government giving a green signal for the floating solar project, LEAG and EP New Energies (EPNE), the project developers, can now make applications to the authorities for the required building permits by the end 2022. As per details, the solar project is expected to generate about 20,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean electricity annually.

The construction works for the lake-based solar project is expected to begin by the spring of 2023. LEAG has also mentioned previously that the solar power plant could be operationalised next year itself.

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Fabian von Oesen, Head of Renewable Energies at LEAG, stated, “Although the floating solar plant on the 1,900-hectare Cottbus Ostsee lake is to occupy less than one percent of the lake’s surface, the plant will make an important contribution to the climate-friendly power supply of Cottbus’ harbour district.”

The size of the lake makes it possible to install such a floating solar power plant without encroaching on lakeshores used for tourism or disturbing planned shipping routes, said the press release. LEAG calculates the plant will produce enough electricity to supply 5,700 households annually.

City Mayor Holger Kelch further added, “Floating photovoltaics is only the first step that we are taking together; other projects, such as wind turbines and a lake water heat pump, will follow.”

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The Cottbus Ostsee will also become the largest artificial inland lake in Germany. The country looks to install a capacity of 215 GW of solar power by the end of this decade. This means that it has to add some 2022 GW of capacity each year.

LEAG, on the other had, also plans other renewable projects in Brandenburg on other former fossil fuel-based project sites.