Sweden's first floating solar plant installed

Säve Nursery north of Gothenburg is the first in the country to install a floating solar farm. The system has been developed by start-up Sunsurf Solar, which is part of Innovatum Science Park's incubator. The solution helps the nursery optimize its land use and can generate up to 15% more energy than a traditional solar farm.

- "It will be great fun to follow Sunsurf's development. The product is a smart solution that feels robust and reliable. The floating solar cell plant will be part of our strategy to grow plants in a climate-neutral, green and fossil-free way," says Rickard Nordström, owner of Säve Nursery.

The hotter solar cells get, the less power they generate. By placing solar cells on water, a cooling effect is created that increases the effect even on the hottest days of the year. The floating solar farm is designed to withstand snow, wind and ice loads, designed according to Nordic building standards and consists of interconnected modules (PowerModules) that are adapted to the size of the watercourse or adjacent electricity infrastructure.

- The system, which is the first of its kind, consists of six interconnected PowerModules, which are held in place by our unique anchoring system. "Even at the time of construction, there were sub-zero temperatures, strong winds and icing, which is not a problem as an earlier version of the system was tested in extreme weather conditions for long periods," says Martin Örgård, co-founder and technical director of Sunsurf Solar.

Not affected if the watercourse is drained and refilled in a short time

The floating photovoltaic system is primarily aimed at companies and operators with their own irrigation ponds, but can also be used on other surfaces. The anchoring system can cope with height differences of up to six meters, which, according to the founders, makes the technology the only one suitable for watercourses that are drained and refilled in a short time. Säve, one of the country's largest nurseries, has put a lot of focus on energy efficiency and optimizing its land use in various ways over the past decade. The result is that they can now grow significantly more on the same area than a few years ago.

- It's incredibly cool to see our first commercial facility in place. Säve Nursery really shows the way forward on how to smartly gain environmental benefits while creating profitability," says Marc Montgomery, CEO and co-founder of Sunsurf Solar.

About Sunsurf Solar

Sunsurf Solar was founded in Gothenburg in 2020 by Martin Örgård, Marc Montgomery and Björn Larsson, friends since childhood and with a burning interest and passion for the environment. While Martin and Björn are mechanical engineers with expertise in floating structures, educated at Chalmers University of Technology, Marc, educated at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, has expertise in environmental law.

The business idea was born when the friends brainstormed new ways to harness solar energy in a way that not only generates clean energy, but also creates benefits such as water saving and land use optimization.

Since 2022, Sunsurf Solar is part of our incubator. Earlier this year, the team raised 2 million in investment and during the fall they have also participated in Draknästet on SVT.