Statkraft starts operating the first unit of 2 MW floating solar PV project in Banja reservoir

Statkraft, in cooperation with Norwegian supplier Ocean Sun, has started commercial operations at the first unit of its floating solar project in Albania.

The project is placed at the Banja reservoir in Albania, where Statkraft is operating its 72 megawatt Banja hydropower plant. After the successful completion of the first floating solar unit and connection to the grid, the plant is now generating renewable energy and injecting the power into the Albanian national electricity grid.

The first unit, comprising 1536 solar panels, has an installed capacity of 0.5 MWp and covers almost 4,000 square meters. In addition, 160 equal panels have been placed on land for comparison and documentation of the cooling effect on the floating panels.

The project is expected to continue its second implementation phase during the second half of 2021, whereby additional three floating units will be installed, with a combined additional capacity of 1.5 MWp.