Renewables developer Vattenfall has started the construction of its first floating photovoltaic installation, in the Netherlands.
Recently divers set anchor points at the bottom of a body of water at a sand and gravel plant in Gendringen where the 1.2MW installation will be located.
The floating solar park will be anchored at these points.
The team comprised four Belgian specialist divers who, due to the lockdown in their home country, were only allowed to cross the border with a letter from Vattenfall.
Vattenfall project manager Maria Barrion Sanz said: “The work is very risky and we just couldn’t do it with a completely new team start from scratch.
“Fortunately, the divers were allowed to cross the border with a letter from Vattenfall. However, the hotel in which they should have stayed, along with all the restaurants, had to close in early March. So we had to find alternatives here too.”
When all the anchors are in place, a special team will build the island to host the PV modules in several phases from small vessels.
This process is scheduled to start in mid-May and will take around five weeks in total.
In addition to the work of the divers, the pit and the surrounding area are subjected to an ecological check every week where an environmental expert searches the area for bird nests and other biotopes.
“So far there has been no reason to change our processes. However, it could happen that we may have to take natural developments into account and adjust our schedule accordingly,” Barrion Sanz added.