Floating solar farms |  Floatovoltaics, floating solar panels

Floating solar farms |  Floatovoltaics, floating solar panels

    Floating solar farms: Floating solar farms are a type of CSP system installed on bodies of water. Floating solar parks have several advantages over traditional CSP systems, including lower land costs and the ability to cool the solar panels, which can improve power generation efficiency and help reduce pond evaporation and lakes.

1. What are the advantages of FPV

Floatovoltaics have some water saving advantages:

• Part coverage can reduce the water evaporation
• The main advantage of floating PV plants is that they do not potentially displace arable land.
• Floating PV plants are more compact than land-based plants, and their construction and decommissioning is straightforward.
• They can be installed in areas where land is scarce, such as near cities or in agricultural areas.
• They can help to reduce evaporation from water bodies, which can be beneficial in water-scarce areas.
• They can help to prevent algae blooms in freshwater bodies.

A solar panel’s output is related to the temperature :

• Improve power generation efficiency ;
• Potential gain in energy harvesting up to 8-10% ;
• The water beneath the panels helps to cool them down, which can improve their efficiency.

2. Floating Solar Photovoltaics Could Make a Big Energy Transition in the United States

    The NREL study on the technical potential of FPV in the United States found that 24,419 artificial water bodies in the United States are suitable for FPV development. The search was limited to artificial water bodies, as artificial reservoirs are more likely to be managed and therefore have infrastructure and roads in place. This can make the FPV setup process easier. Additionally, installing the FPV on managed bodies of water may pose fewer environmental concerns than installations on natural bodies of water.

    Suitable water bodies were found by filtering data from the National Inventory of Dams and the National Hydrographic Dataset. The NREL team created size requirements (2 meters deep and 1 acre area).

    The study determined that if 27% of the area of these 24,419 water bodies were covered by FPV systems, they would generate about 10% of the country's energy needs.

3. Floating Solar Photovoltaics installation history and predictions

    FPV systems are gaining ground all over the world. A recent market research report by Technavio predicts that the FPV market will experience compound annual growth of over 31% between 2018 and 2022. 52% of the growth will come from the Americas. According to GTM Research, annual FPV installations will reach over 1.5 GW in 2019. Figure 2 shows the history of FPV installations and forecasts for geographic locations.

Figure : Floating Solar Photovoltaics installation history and predictions

4. The future of floating photovoltaics

    Recently, the number of FPV installations has increased rapidly. China, Japan, and South Korea have seen significant FPV development, and FPV growth is expected to continue. The United States should also continue to install FPV projects. FPV technology has the potential to help countries meet their solar power generation goals while addressing land use issues and providing environmental benefits, such as reduced algae growth and of water evaporation. This study can help communities in the United States understand the technical potential and benefits of FPV when planning power generation projects.

Notes :

NREL | www.nrel.gov

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