The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has launched a Federal Council initiative to unlock the full potential of floating photovoltaics (FPV) by calling for more flexible national regulations. The current Federal Water Resources Act limits the scale and siting of such installations.
🧱 With many artificial lakes created from gravel and sand mining, NRW sees an opportunity to:
✅ Reduce pressure on agricultural and land resources
✅ Install larger, more economical FPV systems
✅ Generate renewable energy directly where it’s needed
🌿 NRW’s Environment Minister Oliver Krischer emphasized how floating solar can support land conservation and local energy resilience, especially in regions like the Lower Rhine with extensive quarry lakes.
Currently, NRW has six operational FPV projects, including the 5.6 MW Bislich quarry lake system — the largest in the state.
🏗️ BayWa r.e.’s Christopher Schulze voiced strong support, noting that dual-use space is both sensible and necessary, and current restrictive rules hinder the viability of larger FPV deployments. He called on the federal government to align with the coalition’s commitment to enabling dual-use solar solutions like FPV, agri-PV, and solar carports.
📢 With Germany surpassing 100 GW of installed solar, of which NRW contributed 12.3 GW, floating solar offers untapped potential for scaling up further — without land conflicts.
🔗 The initiative comes as Europe looks to strengthen its regulatory and technical framework for FPV, following key discussions at Intersolar Europe and recent progress like Oceans of Energy’s floating offshore solar-wind pilot in the Netherlands.
Read more: https://www.pv-tech.org/german-state-launches-initiative-boosting-floating-pv-on-artificial-lakes/