Křetínský's EPH starts building Germany's largest floating solar plant

Daniel Křetínský’s Energy and Industrial Holding (EPH) has started construction of Germany’s largest floating solar power plant on Lake Ostsee near Cottbus, Germany. The plant will have a capacity of 29 megawatts, enough to generate electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of around 8250 households. The company announced the project on its website. The group plans to commission the floating photovoltaic system in the second half of next year.

EP New Energies, part of the EPH group, will be responsible for building the floating power plant. According to the holding, the floating solar plant will be the largest in Germany and one of the five largest floating solar facilities in Europe.

The floating power plant project will combine floating photovoltaics, wind energy and thermal energy from the lake. The most technologically significant part of the facility will be a new stabilisation system using pile anchoring, based on technology used in ports. According to the group, this approach will provide reliable anchoring with low maintenance requirements and fewer anchor chains. The Ostsee project is also part of the holding’s vision to transform the local Lusatia region into a green power hub.

The group is therefore preparing the conditions for further renewable energy sources in the region. “We made a major effort to overcome regulatory obstacles and ensure that lakes in reclaimed mining pits are recognised as transformation areas, which will help meet the federal government’s targets for expanding renewable energy,” the holding said.

A Czech company will also be involved in another planned floating photovoltaic project in Germany. Greenbuddies recently signed contracts with Dutch company Floating Solar to build it. It will be Germany’s first large-scale floating photovoltaic park with vertical sun tracking. The total construction cost is estimated at 1.5 million euros (more than 36 million crowns).

The first floating solar power plant in Czechia has also been connected to the grid this year. ČEZ connected its floating plant in Štěchovice after a year of testing. It installed the plant on the surface of the upper reservoir called Homole. After a year of testing, engineers also quadrupled its capacity this year, from the original 21.7 to 87 kilowatts. The photovoltaic panels are intended to test the floating properties of the supporting structure for possible use of this type of photovoltaics in future large-scale parks.

Daniel Křetínský is the majority owner of the EPH group. In 2020, Slovak financier and J&T co-founder Patrik Tkáč returned to the shareholder structure. The holding comprises more than 70 companies across Europe. Its companies include energy firms EP Infrastructure and EP Power Europe, EP Logistics International, which brings together transport and freight forwarding companies, and real estate company EP Real Estate. Last year, the holding increased its operating profit (EBITDA) to 4.3 billion euros (around CZK 105 billion). That was an increase of 2 billion euros (CZK 48.8 billion) year on year.

According to the latest ranking by Forbes magazine, Křetínský is the second-richest Czech, with a fortune of CZK 210.9 billion.