Vertical floating PV plant comes online in Germany

Sinn Power has deployed a 1.8 MW vertical solar array on a quarry lake in the Bavarian municipality of Gilching. The company highlights the ecological benefits of the vertical system configuration and, perhaps surprisingly, its high resistance to storms.

October 15, 2025 Jochen Siemer

Image: Sinn Power

From pv magazine Germany

German developer Sinn Power has announced the completion of what it claims to be the world’s largest floating photovoltaic plant featuring vertically oriented solar panels.

The company said its SKipp-Float system offers notable advantages in terms of storm resistance. The mounting structure is designed so the modules can deflect under wind load via a cable system, minimizing wind resistance while also providing significant stability against wave motion.

The system became operational on August 21 at a gravel pit lake in Gilching, Bavaria, in southern Germany, and was officially inaugurated last Friday. Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder was among the keynote speakers. The groundbreaking ceremony in November, when around 50 modules had already been installed, had already drawn high-profile visitors, including Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger. Sinn Power first announced the project in April of last year.

Despite the relatively long implementation phase, unplanned delays were reportedly minimal. Gottfried Jais, Managing Director of Kies- und Quetschwerk Jais GmbH & Co. KG, the project partner that owns the quarry lake and uses the generated electricity for its operations, expressed gratitude for the speedy approval process during the inauguration.

According to yield forecasts, the gravel pit can cut its grid electricity purchases by up to 70%, with any surplus electricity fed into the public grid.

The solar modules are arranged vertically in an east-west orientation with a 4-meter row spacing. Each SKipp-Float unit requires only a narrow, keel-like base extending approximately 1.6 meters underwater, which the company says ensures a small footprint.

Exact figures were not provided in Sinn Power’s press release, and the Federal Network Agency’s market data register contains no entry for the site. According to Sinn Power, the floating array occupies just 4.65% of the lake’s surface, well below the 15% maximum allowed under Germany’s Water Resources Act. Plans are already underway for a second expansion phase, which would add another 1.7 MW to the site.

Beyond its low land use, Sinn Power highlights additional ecological benefits. The system’s design improves oxygen exchange, allows sunlight to reach the water surface, and promotes natural circulation of the water layers.

The company also noted that buoys installed before construction indicate that water quality has tended to improve since commissioning. Nesting waterfowl have been observed on the floats, and schools of fish have gathered near the keel-like reset weights.

These reset weights primarily serve a stabilizing function: if the modules tilt under wind or wave stress, the weights ensure they return to an upright position. Sinn Power reports that the technical reliability of the patented system has been confirmed in the first weeks of operation.

The company sees potential applications for its system in any year-round artificial water body with a depth of 1.6 meters or more—particularly gravel pits and quarry lakes that fall under the 15% area rule of the German Federal Water Resources Act. Target users include companies with high electricity demand or planned electrification strategies.

Like other providers of vertically arranged PV systems, Sinn Power emphasizes the favorable generation profile for both self-consumption and electricity marketing in the grid.

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