Thames Water to deploy 6.3-MWp floating solar array

Feb 15, 2016 16:08 CET by Plamena Tisheva

February 15 – Thames Water is deploying a 6.3-MWp floating solar system on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir, it said on Monday.

The water utility has signed an agreement with Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy for the project, touted as Europe’s biggest floating solar panel array. It is expected to generate 5.8 million kWh in its first year of operation.

Solar company Lightsource is managing the installation and will oversee the deployment of more than 23,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels on the reservoir near Walton-on-Thames. This is the first floating solar project for the company.

The solar array, which will cover around a tenth of the reservoir, will help power the nearby water treatment works. It is part of Thames Water’s goal to self-generate a third of its own energy by 2020. The utility currently has solar panels on 41 of its sites.

Eva Pauly, business development head at the manufacturer of the floating mounting system — Ciel et Terre International, said: “This is our largest project outside of Japan and the first one with European bank financing, proving that our technology is not only suitable for water utilities, but has also been recognised as bankable in Europe as well as Asia.”

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