^ KRINNER is installing Europe’s largest photovoltaic power plant

19.12.2014

Krinner Schraubfundamente GmbH is erecting the currently largest photovoltaic project under construction in Europe. The ground-mounted solar plant in Cestas near Bordeaux is being erected on approximately 200,000 ground screws and is scheduled for completion within less than ten months. For this purpose, KRINNER is deploying innovative technology and cutting edge machines: for example, drones, GPS-controlled surveying robots and the latest screwing machines are being used. The complete information flow on site is being transmitted via WLAN. The photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 300 megawatts peak (MWp) is being realised by the family-owned company from Lower Bavaria, Germany, together with the Clemessy-Eiffage Group and Schneider Electric.

Krinner Schraubfundamente GmbH installs photovoltaic power plants on ground screws throughout the world – with self-developed special machines and tailor-made solutions. KRINNER's largest commission to date started at the beginning of December. More than 326 kilometres of ground-mounted support frames are being installed in the south of France within a period of less than ten months. Here the Flex V free-standing solution is being used in a particularly space-saving, newly developed east-west configuration. Around 200,000 galvanized ground screws are being driven into the ground. It is planned to install up to 4MWp per day.

Installation with drones, robots and innovative screwing machines
The photovoltaic power plant is scheduled for completion in record time. “The individual working steps will be implemented extremely efficiently and as much information as possible will be transmitted directly from the construction site WLAN to our machines,” summarises Sales Manager Peter Hammer. On the construction site, specialists from KRINNER are checking the soil conditions in advance. A drone will then fly above the roughly 260-hectare site, whose data will be used to create a detailed 3D model of the topography with the height values. A GPS-controlled robot will then measure the site. Finally, cutting edge screwing machines will drive the ground screws into the ground to the nearest millimetre, whereby the precise height of the installation will be ensured by means of detailed 3D planning and WLAN. Ultimately, almost one million PV modules will be installed.

Efficient and high-performance energy generation
The power plant in Cestas is being realised in a consortium together with two leading companies in the solar energy industry: the Clemessy-Eiffage Group is responsible for the overall construction and Schneider Electric is looking after the operational energy management. The total volume of the contract amounts to almost 300 million euros. The area around Bordeaux is particularly ideal for constructing ground-mounted systems as it provides particularly good conditions for solar power plants – with around 2,000 hours of sunshine per year and a global irradiation of more than 1,300 kWh/m2. The solar power plant in Cestas will enable more than 360 gigawatt-hours per year to be produced. This is sufficient to supply the entire population of the City of Bordeaux by day with energy.

KRINNER operates in a time- and cost-saving manner in over 50 countries
KRINNER has to date installed more than 1,500 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar power throughout the world. That is enough to supply a major city with electricity or replace five coal-fired power plants or the most powerful nuclear power reactor in the world, underlines Peter Hammer: “We’ve developed special high-tech machines for this purpose and have so far filed over 150 patents.” KRINNER is able to realise projects so quickly and cost-effectively thanks to its continuous further development of machines and technology. The foundations are installed entirely without concrete, which is therefore particularly environmentally friendly.

Latest cutting-edge technology The KRINNER family-owned company has developed a diverse range of special machines that allow tailor-made solutions for various soil conditions and terrain slopes as well as for specific wind and snow loads. “Innovation is our daily business,” emphasises founder Klaus Krinner from Straßkirchen near Straubing, Germany. Since last year, Krinner Schraubfundamente GmbH has been stepping up its business in particular in overseas sales regions. In addition to several French projects, a particular focus is on giant solar plants in Japan and Chile.