Rhineland-Palatinate Approves First Energyfish Swarm at Sankt Goar
State approval backed by a university study clears the way for a 124-unit pilot that could deliver steady, low-impact river power.
Overview
- The Rhineland-Palatinate environment ministry approved a pilot “swarm” power plant of compact Energyfish turbines in a Rhine side arm near Sankt Goar.
- Three units already run in the river, with 21 more slated next as the project builds toward 124 turbines.
- A Technical University of Munich study reported no injuries to fish and no change in their behavior, which aided the permit.
- Each unit is about 2.8 by 2.4 meters, weighs roughly 80 kilograms, anchors under water, and uses the river’s flow to drive a 6 kW generator without a dam.
- Energyminer and state officials frame Sankt Goar as a proof of scale for fast-flowing stretches of rivers like the Rhine or Mosel, though depth, current, shipping lanes, and conservation rules will constrain sites.