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A Review of Hybrid Floating Solar Plant Designs
Abstract
The demand for power will have doubled by the year 2050. Solar energy currently meets a small percentage of the world's demand, despite its enormous potential as an eco-friendly method for producing electricity. Utilizing land resources sustainably is one of the challenges. As an alternative, floating PV (FPV) plants on bodies of water, such as a dam, reservoir, canal, etc., are gaining popularity worldwide. This project aims to design a hybrid floating solar system that can produce renewable energy in light of the above. Among the hybrid technologies addressed are FPV & hydro systems, FPV & pumped hydro, FPV & wave energy converter, FPV & solar tree, FPV & tracking, FPV & conventional power, and FPV & hydrogen. The review also summarises the main benefits and drawbacks of hybrid floating solar PV (FPV) systems. The hybrid FPV technologies with hydro and solar energy input were some of the most promising ones for producing power efficiently. The important ideas in this paper advance understanding and could serve as a catalyst for the creation of environmentally friendly, sustainable hybrid floating installations
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Floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems have become an increasingly attractive application of photovoltaics (PV) because of land-use constraints, the cost of land and site preparation, and the perceived energy and environmental co-benefits. Despite the increasing interest in FPV systems, a robust validation of their suggested co-benefits and impacts on the nexus of energy, water, and food (EWF) systems is lacking. This information gap makes it challenging for decision makers to justify its adoption—potentially suppressing FPV deployment. To address this gap and to help de-risk this PV deployment opportunity, we (1) review the suggested co-benefits of FPV systems with a focus on the impacts that could alleviate pressures on EWF systems and (2) identify areas where further research is needed to reduce uncertainty around FPV system performance. Our review reveals that EWF nexus-relevant co-benefits, such as improved panel efficiency and reduced land usage, are corroborated in the literature, whereas others, such as water quality impacts, lack empirical evidence. Our findings indicate that further research is needed to quantify the water-related and broader economic, environmental, social, sustainability, justice, and resilience co-benefits and impacts of FPV systems.
In this paper, solar energy research trends and their publishing evolution are presented in terms of bibliometric analysis tools applied to the existing publications within the Web of Science Core Collection. Publishing evolution shows a clear interest in solar energy topics, as 50% of the total number of publications have been published within the time period between 2015 and 2020; most of them at journals and conference proceedings. A results analysis shows that China, the United States and India were the most productive countries in terms of solar energy research publications, and the list of the 10 most productive countries accounted for 83% of total publications within 2019 and 2020. The study pointed out as well that the main thematic areas in solar energy research in 2019–2020 were related to particular topics such as solar cells and optical properties, nanoparticles and composites, TiO2 and photocatalysis, and more general topics such as performance, simulations optimization and renewable energy. Based on paper findings, the research future of solar energy is bright, with continued growth in the publications record and a wide variety of research topics.
In this paper, a techno-economic analysis is performed to assess the feasibility of adding an offshore floating solar farm to an existing Dutch offshore wind farm in the North Sea, under the constraint of a certain fixed cable capacity. The specific capacity of the cable that connects the offshore park to the onshore grid is not fully used due to the limited capacity factor of the wind farm. The principle of cable pooling allows to add floating solar capacity. Using weather data it is found that adding solar capacity leads to forced curtailment due to the cable capacity, but this is quite limited as result of the anti-correlation of the solar and wind resource. For the economic analysis, different scenarios regarding subsidy measures are considered for the calculation of net present value and levelized cost of electricity. Also the optimum additional PV capacity for each scenario is computed. The results show that with higher cost per Wp, optimum PV capacity decreases, but more favourable subsidies lead to higher optimized PV capacities. As the aim of the paper is not limited to a case study a methodology is developed for generalization of the techno-economic analysis of a hybrid solar/wind park. In this generalization, the initial investment, system degradation, cable capacity, number of hours when each system is active, and energy price, are implemented to compute the optimum PV capacity regarding the net present value as an indicator for economic analysis of the project.
Floating photovoltaics is a emerging approach to deploy photovoltaics on water bodies. Thanks to its high overall global potential and the extensive experience gained (with more than 2 GWp installed and than 510 plants, up to 2020), it represents a promising venue for expanding renewable electricity production worldwide. However, a local assessment for sustainability is needed for this potential to be converted into specific projects attracting the attention of stakeholders. This paper provides an original and wide-ranging screening checklist that allows for site assessment, with a view of separating suitable from unsuitable sites and emphasising that appropriate design can solve difficulties linked to the site features. It offers an extensive list of activities that international, national and regional authorities, investors, solution providers, local communities and civic society, environmentalists and other stakeholders might undertake for a fruitful dialogue. It explores the possibility that art, architecture and industrial design may play a role in increasing the touristic value and the public acceptance of new plants. Although the checklist can be used in other conditions, a particular attention is paid to mountain artificial lakes used as reservoirs by hydro-power plants, since they have potential high synergies (and a global potential of over 3.0 TW) but also may encounter significant implementation issues.
This work addresses the potential impact on water quality and quantifies the benefit of the low carbon power source of floating solar panels in evaporation reduction when using them on an open water body, such as an agricultural irrigation pond in semi-arid regions. By utilizing agricultural ponds for low carbon energy conversion, and saving precious water through evaporation reduction, the highly vulnerable agricultural sector will be empowered. A pilot size setup is prepared, key water quality parameters were monitored and evaporation quantities in a PV-covered pond are compared to those from an adjacent open water pond used as a control. Several inclination angles for the panels were tested. Results showed no adverse impact on the water quality; on the contrary, there is evidence of improvement particularly in nitrate and chlorophyll concentrations. Moreover, a reduction of ∼60% in evaporation was observed; power generation from the floating panels, on the other hand, was statistically similar to that from ground-mounted panels.
Floating photovoltaic (FPV) technology is gaining prominence as a means to alleviate land use conflicts while obtaining large solar PV deployments and simultaneously reducing evaporated water loss. In this study, an open source after-market distributed manufacturing method is proposed to be applied to large flexible PV modules to make flexible FPV systems. Specifically this study considers surface floating of flexible thin film solar PV using three types of closed-cell foams: i) neoprene, ii) mincell and iii) polyethylene. The fabricated FPV underwent indoor and outdoor tests for flotation, wave resistance, temperature and resistance to algae accumulation. The average operational temperature was reduced by 10–20 °C for the FPV compared to land-based mounting indicating substantial increases in electricity output compared to ground-based deployment of any type of PV (2–4% for amorphous silicon used here and 5–10% for crystalline silicon based PV). In addition, foam-based FPV racking were also found to reduce costs of racking to $0.37–0.61/W, which is significantly lower than raft-based FPV as well as conventional land-based racking. The results of this preliminary study indicate that foam-backed FPV is exceptionally promising and should be further investigated with different foams, larger systems and more diverse deployments for longer periods to increase PV deployments.
Deployment of floating solar photovoltaic installations (floatovoltaics) is advancing, with various designs beginning to appear in a range of marine environments. Insight from freshwater floatovoltaics is not readily transferable offshore, and so lessons from other marine energy infrastructure are used to highlight how the marine environment may impact floatovoltaics, how the floatovoltaics impact the environment (both positively and negatively) and the likely societal response. It becomes clear that research to understand the environmental and societal implications of floating solar in the marine environment must proceed in parallel with investigations of the technical and economic feasibility.
In an era of looming land scarcity and environmental degradation, the development of low carbon energy systems without adverse impacts on land and land-based resources is a global challenge. 'Floatovoltaic' energy systems-comprising floating photovoltaic (PV) panels over water-are an appealing source of low carbon energy as they spare land for other uses and attain greater electricity outputs compared to land-based systems. However, to date little is understood of the impacts of floatovoltaics on the hosting water body. Anticipating changes to water body processes, properties and services owing to floatovoltaic deployment represents a critical knowledge gap that may result in poor societal choices and water body governance. Here, we developed a theoretically-derived hierarchical effects framework for the assessment of floatovoltaic impacts on freshwater water bodies, emphasising ecological interactions. We describe how the presence of floatovoltaic systems may dramatically alter the air-water interface, with subsequent implications for surface meteorology, air-water fluxes and physical, chemical and biological properties of the recipient water body. We apply knowledge from this framework to delineate three response typologies-'magnitude', those for which the direction and magnitude of effect can be predicted; 'direction', those for which only the direction of effect can be predicted; and 'uncertain', those for which the response cannot be predicted-characterised by the relative importance of levels in the effects hierarchy. Illustrative decision trees are developed for an example water body response within each typology, specifically, evaporative water loss, cyanobacterial biomass, and phosphorus release from bed sediments, and implications for ecosystem services, including climate regulation, are discussed. Finally, the potential to use the new understanding of likely ecosystem perturbations to direct floatovoltaic design innovations and identify future research priorities is outlined, showcasing how inter-sectoral collaboration and environmental science can inform and optimize this low carbon, land-sparing renewable energy for ecosystem gains.
Solar PV is possible alternative renewable energy resources, particularly for rural electrification. Its high demand growth may cause for land scarcity, and this will be a serious problem in countries like Ethiopia where agriculture is main source of economy and population large size. In addition to land scarcity, low efficiency of photovoltaic land installation is another problem. Hence, photovoltaic performance is relying on weather conditions, operation parameters like temperature and wind speed. Water bodies can be alternatives to install photovoltaic to the scarcest land and decrease impact of temperature on photovoltaic. To reduce the affirmation problems floating system is an alternative technology. Floating photovoltaic plants are an emerging form of PV system that floats on water bodies. Land installation of photovoltaic increases risk of PV module efficiency drops land scarcity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to design floating system for Debre Mariam Island to increases efficiency of solar cell and save land. To tackle mentioned problems floating photovoltaic installation is method used. Floating photovoltaic provides efficient energy supply and new strategy to save land. Thus, floating photovoltaic system is modeled so as to satisfy daily energy load demand of Debre Mariam Island community electric loads. The temperature and wind speed are major contributory factors for panel efficiency drops and low power output in land photovoltaic installations. 294.8 kW is the generated power output of solar floating system whereas 289.9 kW is the generated power output of land photovoltaic installation. Thus, floating PV installation increases the generated power output by 4.9 kW.
To mitigate the effects of wind variability on power output, hybrid systems that combine offshore wind with other renewables are a promising option. In this work we explore the potential of combining offshore wind and solar power through a case study in Asturias (Spain)—a region where floating solutions are the only option for marine renewables due to the lack of shallow water areas, which renders bottom-fixed wind turbines inviable. Offshore wind and solar power resources and production are assessed based on high-resolution data and the technical specifications of commercial wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Relative to a typical offshore wind farm, a combined offshore wind–solar farm is found to increase the capacity and the energy production per unit surface area by factors of ten and seven, respectively. In this manner, the utilization of the marine space is optimized. Moreover, the power output is significantly smoother. To quantify this benefit, a novel Power Smoothing (PS) index is introduced in this work. The PS index achieved by combining floating offshore wind and solar PV is found to be of up to 63%. Beyond the interest of hybrid systems in the case study, the advantages of combining floating wind and solar PV are extensible to other regions where marine renewable energies are being considered.
Application of floating solar panels is especially suited for the Netherlands, given the limited availability of land (surface area). Evides water company owns and operates several open storage reservoirs which can be used for installation of these panels, but the installations could affect the local environment, naturally occurring processes and water quality. In this research we evaluate leaching of various substances and possible effects based on a theoretical approach following the Analysis of Microbiological Safety of Drinking water (AMSD method). Besides the water quality issues, the ongoing research at Evides will focus on the effect of the floating solar installation on algae, microbiological and chemical parameters, birds, aquatic flora and fauna, and also look into possibilities of applying alternative storage possibilities using hydrogen.
Electric generation using the photovoltaic (PV) effect is considered ideal in South Sumatra as a response to the government policy to increase the utilization of renewable energy to support the depletion of conventional energy. PV panels can be installed in a fishing village in the Sungsang Estuary. This paper examined the eligibility analysis for the installation of PV panels on brackish water. In this research, two Panels are installed, the first one is floating over a water body, and the second is ground mounted as a comparison of electricity produced and efficiency. The Jsc floating and ground mounting differ in 0.4435 A. The measured Jload in floating PV panels is 0.3900 A higher than the ground mounting. The measured Voc at the floating PV panels is 0.2935 V higher, and the Vload of the floating PV panel is 3.0742 V higher than the ground mount. The differences are due to the floating PV panel surface temperature being lower than ground mounting. Electricity generated by floating PV panels is averagely 11.89 Watt higher, and the efficiency is 4% higher than that of ground installation. This experiment also shows that PV panels can be installed over brackish water in the fishing village of Sungsang Estuary.
PV system utilize the photovoltaic effect to generate electricity directly from the energy brought by the sunrays. However, the normal ground installation of PV panel is prone to several effect reducing the power output and efficiency, such as the overheated panel surface that can lead to malfunction of a cell. The alternative for ground installation is installing the PV panel on the surface of a water body such as river or lake, and called Floating Solar Panel. This paper presents the pilot project for application of floating solar panel in Palembang. This setting is also functioning as passive or natural cooling for the panel and increase the power output. The pilot project was conducted on August 2-8, 2019 by comparing two 100 Wp Poly-crystalline PV panels. The passive cooling of floating solar panel can reduce surface temperature by 2 o C compared to ground installation. The experiment shows the most effective time to harvest the power from the sun is from 11.00 AM to 02.00 PM. The average output power generated by Floating Solar Panels is 51.6 Watts, compared to 42.9 Watt Ground Solar panels.
The impact of different photovoltaic models for a combined solar array and pumped hydro storage system was investigated. Al-Wehda dam located in Harta city in the northern of Jordan was used to validate the approach. The two-diode (TD), single-diode (SD), and ideal single-diode (ISD) solar models were evaluated in terms of the solar array size, reliability, and ecological effects. The impoundment of Al-Wehda dam was taken as the upper reservoir of the pumped hydro facility of the proposed renewable energy system. It was found that the PV power is more accurately modelled by considering the recombination loss in the TD solar model. This leads to a more realistic sizing and precise system evaluation. Results were obtained using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) for validation purposes. For instance, the PSO results showed that the realistic TD model is reliable, with an index of reliability of 98.558%. Further, it is the most ecological solution with an annual emissions reduction of 21.5198 Gg. The optimized values are 44,840 solar panels and 65.052 M.m3 of the lower reservoir volume for the TD model. The number of PV panels are reduced by 16.67% and 7.93%, respectively, with the ISD and SD relative to the TD model.
The purpose of this study is to model, simulate, and compare the performance of a photovoltaics system on land and at sea. To be able to have a fair comparison the effect of sea waves, wind speed and relative humidity are considered in this model. The sea waves are modeled in the frequency domain, using a wave spectrum. The irradiation on a tilted surface for a floating system is calculated considering the tilt angle that is affected by the sea waves. Moreover, the temperature is estimated based on heat transfer theory and the natural cooling system for both floating and land‐based photovoltaic systems. Actual measured weather data from two different locations, one located at Utrecht University campus and the other one on the North Sea, are used to simulate the systems, thus making the comparison possible. Energy yield is calculated for these weather conditions. The results show that the relative annual average output energy is about 12.96% higher at sea compared with land. However, in some months, this relative output energy increases up to 18% higher energy yield at sea. Modeling, simulation, and comparison for the performance of floating and land‐based PV systems. The effect of sea waves is considered to compute the irradiation on a varying tilted surface for the FPV system and wind speed is considered for computing the effect of the natural cooling system for both systems. The computed energy yields show that relative annual average output energy is about 12.96% higher at sea.
Solar photovoltaic technology is one of the most well established new and renewable energy technologies. Many researchers have undertaken wide research and development in this sector, including material and system design. To protect the exhaustion of global terrestrial land and to avoid the occupation of extensive farmlands, solar photovoltaic (PV) developers, as well as policymakers, have pursued various solutions, including the development of floating solar PV (FPV). This study consists of a technological and economic perspective to analyze the floating solar PV system. The authors utilize remote sensing results to predict FPV efficiency and measure energy yield from the system while also developing an economics analysis on an FPV project by comparison with ground-based solar PV (GPV). The results from the remote sensing method found that the lake has a cooler temperature than the ground, with an annual difference of around 8 °C. FPV efficiency was also shown to be around 0.61% higher than GPV in terms of the prediction. FPV economic parameter comparison also resulted in 3.37 cents/kWh lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and 6.08% higher internal rate of return (IRR) compared to GPV in the base scenario.
Floating solar technology (FPV) emergence is driven by lack of available land, loss of efficiency at high operating cell temperature, energy security and decarbonization targets. It is a promising area of solar photovoltaic application, with a large global market potential. A significant challenge when assessing FPV projects is the lack of a suitable simulation tools for estimating the electricity production. A clear understanding and quantification of the cooling effect, how it differs between different FPV technologies, is still unclear among the industry. As the sector grows, larger projects will emerge, which require financing. Ensuring bankability is fundamental, thus having confidence in the energy estimates is key. Using PVsyst® to estimate electricity production of FV plants ensures bankability but has limitations. This work aimed to close the gap between the expected enhanced performance highlighted in the literature for FPV systems and the results from numerical simulations of energy production performed with PVsyst®. Results show that the increase in production from FPV technologies is below the anticipated values of the literature (ca. 10%), ranging from 0.31% to 2.59%, depending on the floating solar technology. Based on the results presented, higher performance is strongly dependent on technology and the location. The values of the levelized cost of energy ranged between 96.2 €/MWh to 50.3 €/MWh, depending on the technology and the solar irradiation that reaches the site.
There is a growing interest in airport-based solar plant installations around the world. The buffer zone area in airports can effectively be utilized by tapping solar energy. However, it possesses concern for air safety and navigation mainly from the possible glare of the PV array. The objective of the study is to analyze the technical performance of a proposed solar PV plant in the premises of Kuantan Airport, Malaysia using SolarGis software with due consideration of glare occurrence. Eight zones are selected, and it was observed that yellow glare will occur for 4,552 min at ATC from Zone 8. The impact of glare from the other zones is in accordance with FAA’s glare policy. The selected zones cover 0.2677 km² of the airport’s land with solar potential of 20 MW. The proposed solar PV plant consists of 57,143 crystalline silicon PV modules. Each PV string consists of PV modules of 20 in number. The number of strings in the entire PV plant is 2,857. The proposed PV plant requires 40 numbers of central inverters and 20 numbers of transformers. The proposed solar PV power plant is expected to generate 26,304 MWh annually and this energy generation is 168 times the energy consumption of the airport’s terminal building. The highest energy production will be observed in March (2,514 MWh). It is projected that the monthly average final yield varies from a maximum value of 125.70 MWh/MWp-month in March to a minimum of 90.70 MWh/MWp-month in December. The proposed solar plant in Kuantan airport is expected to perform sufficiently well with 76.88 % performance ratio and 15.22 % capacity utilization factor. These results predict the safe operation of the airport-based solar system in Malaysia without glare impact.
An improved understanding of the effects of floating solar platforms on the ecosystem is necessary to define acceptable and responsible real-world field implementations of this new marine technology. This study examines a number of potential effects of offshore floating solar photovoltaic (PV) platforms on the hydrodynamics and net primary production in a coastal sea for the first time. Three contrasting locations within the North Sea (a shallow and deeper location with well-mixed conditions and a seasonally stratifying location) have been analysed using a water column physical–biogeochemical model: the General Ocean Turbulence Model coupled with the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model – Biogeochemical Flux Model (GOTM-ERSEM-BFM). The results show strong dependence on the characteristics of the location (e.g. mixing and stratification) and on the density of coverage with floating platforms. The overall response of the system was separated into contributions by platform-induced light deficit, shielding by the platforms of the sea surface from wind and friction induced by the platforms on the currents. For all three locations, light deficit was the dominant effect on the net primary production. For the two well-mixed locations, the other effects of the platforms resulted in partial compensation for the impact of light deficit, while for the stratified location, they enhanced the effects of light deficit. For up to 20 % coverage of the model surface with platforms, the spread in the results between locations was relatively small, and the changes in net primary production were less than 10 %. For higher percentages of coverage, primary production decreased substantially, with an increased spread in response between the sites. The water column model assumes horizontal homogeneity in all forcings and simulated variables, also for coverage with floating platforms, and hence the results are applicable to very-large-scale implementations of offshore floating platforms that are evenly distributed over areas of at least several hundreds of square kilometres, such that phytoplankton remain underneath a farm throughout several tidal cycles. To confirm these results, and to investigate more realistic cases of floating platforms distributed unevenly over much smaller areas with horizontally varying hydrodynamic conditions, in which phytoplankton can be expected to spend only part of the time underneath a farm and effects are likely to be smaller, spatial detail and additional processes need to be included. To do so, further work is required to advance the water column model towards a three-dimensional modelling approach.
In the present study a review paper is formulated which aims to outline technological variations in conceptual and installed designs of floating photovoltaic ‘FPV’ installations by providing documentation on key technologies, provide a review of literature conducted on FPV technologies, and documentation of some of the most recent, large and unique installations. The nascent marine renewable energy technology ‘floating photovoltaics’ is notably growing in cumulative installed capacities and number of installations; the industry first saw developments during the late 2000’s and since then the cumulative installed capacity has been doubling in capacity year on year. Oceans, lakes, estuaries, natural basins and floodplains for hydroelectric power stations cover vast surface areas throughout the world. Utilisation of these water surfaces provides a promising opportunity for the installation of a relatively new technology, floating photovoltaic systems ‘FPVS’. Floating photovoltaic ‘PV’ arrays are devices that can utilize the mostly unused water surfaces and the abundant solar energy from the sun. Systems comprise a large number of ‘photovoltaic’ panels, in combination with floatation tanks, electrical power cables, inverters, a mooring system, and in some cases wave breakers, tracking systems and concentrators. The use of concentrators, cooling and tracking mechanisms are described in the academic (research) literature and show how energy output can be enhanced. Several companies have now begun implementing such features in their commercial technologies. The capital expenditure costs of FPV are higher at USD 0.8-1.2 per Watt peak ‘Wp’, than that of an equivalent land-based PV system due to the requirements of more durable components, floating modules, and mooring lines [1]. Additionally, there are still a lot of unknowns regarding how FPV systems respond in nearshore locations, how they should be designed to withstand the harsher marine environments and studies are limited with regards the hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, coupled aero-hydro-elastic, dynamic modelling of FPV systems and environmental impact assessments. The lack of design standards and best practice guidelines can be seen as a clear impeding factor for the industry and progression of the emerging technology.
https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/188420033/CORE_Paper_2019.pdf
Solar energy is a natural source of energy and is tremendously abundant. The concept of floating solar is to fulfil and to support the existing energy supply in order to enhance the human life. The floating solar exploits the massive availability of ocean region and the severe unavailability of land. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential of floating solar to be deployed in coastal or infield in Malaysia. It was predicted that such system could generate around 14,530 MWh per annum in Malaysia. It can be concluded that floating solar could be one of the most important ocean structures in the future because it is reliable, flexible and has virtually low cost production comparing with other ocean structures.
The Malaysian Government has set an ambitious target to achieve a higher penetration of Renewable Energy (RE) in the Malaysian energy mix. To date, Malaysia has approximately 2% of its energy coming from RE generation sources compared to the total generation mix and targets achieving 20% penetration by 2025. The current energy mix for Malaysia power generation is mainly provided by natural gas and coal. The discussion will cover the traditional sources of generation including natural gas, coal and big hydro stations. In addition, the paper will cover in depth the potential of RE in the country, challenges, and opportunities in this sector. This study can give an initial evaluation of the Malaysian energy industry, especially for RE and can initiate further research and development in this area in order to support the Government target to achieve RE target of 20% by 2025.
The integration of floating a PV plant (FPV) with a Hydroelectric Power plant (HPP) is studied and it is shown that
several advantages come from this hybridization. The FPV power potential is analysed for the first 20 largest HPPs
in the world and it is shown that when covering 10% of the HPP basin surfaces the HPP energy production is
increased by 65%. The experience of China Longyangxa basin and of its connected PV power plant is examined
together with the suggestion to install a FPV whose rated power is equal to HPP rated power. This hypothesis is
applied to an analysis of the geographic potential worldwide and it is shown that covering 2.4% of the existing
HPP basin surfaces the energy produced by HPP will be increased by 35.9%. The advantages of the coupling of the
two power production technologies are discussed.
Significance
Humankind must cease CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel burning if dangerous climate change is to be avoided. However, liquid carbon-based energy carriers are often without practical alternatives for vital mobility applications. The recycling of atmospheric CO 2 into synthetic fuels, using renewable energy, offers an energy concept with no net CO 2 emission. We propose to implement, on a large scale, marine-based artificial islands, on which solar or wind energy powers the production of hydrogen and the extraction of CO 2 from seawater and where these gases are catalytically reacted to yield liquid methanol fuel. The present work proposes specifications for such facilities and highlights essential challenges in physics, chemistry, and engineering which must be met to realize this ambitious proposal.
Indonesia is an archipelago country creating a challenging condition for the Indonesian government to distribute electricity evenly among the islands. The Indonesian government has encouraged the citizens to move from fossil fuel to renewable energy and targeted 23% of renewable application of energy mix in 2025 and 31% in 2050 following Government Regulation No. 79 of 2014. Indonesia is blessed with an abundance of sunlight to be harnessed and converted into electricity by a solar plant. One of the alternative applications of the PV system is a floating solar plant. However, the installation of the PV system near the ocean or off-shore endures sea salt effects. This paper presents the effect of sea salt deposition on output and efficiency loss of a PV system. Two modules are applied to simulate; one in a normal condition, another one splashed with sea water imitating the situation endures by the off-shore installed PV module. The case study is currently taking place in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, and the result of this research will be applied to a fisherman village near Palembang. The output measurement results show there were significant differences in production and efficiency. The average output power difference between the normal condition and salt doused PV module in three days is 1.3778 Watt, and the efficiency difference is 0.948. This number is significant considering the tests were taken for three days. The difference gap can be higher by longer time exposed to salt-containing environments.
A recent article published in the influential journal, Nature Communications, outlines a hypothetical evaporation engine that could harness the energy of lake water evaporation while simultaneously conserving the water resource. Its authors suggest that evaporation engines deployed across all US lakes and reservoirs could, collectively, yield up to 70% of the total U.S. electricity production in 2016. In this article, we present a thorough and detailed simulation of the solar energy yield and associated evaporation reduction potential for 128 US hydropower reservoirs. We show that photovoltaic (PV) technology could: (1) deliver considerably more electrical energy than evaporation engines; (2) deliver this energy on a firm, effectively dispatchable basis; and (3) conserve as much water as the evaporation engines.
The initiatives taken by Algeria to tap its renewable energy potential have been exceptional in recent years. Therefore, the Algerian government aims to ensure a large portion of electricity demand with clean and sustainable resources. In this sense, many projects and large-scale PV plants were installed in the southern regions. This work explores and evaluates the performance of one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants (23.92 MWp) located in the area of El Bayadh, Algeria. The PV plant performance is studied in a period of 36 months of operation from March 2017 to February 2020. In this regard, several evaluation parameters are applied such as performance ratio, yield factor, and capacity utilization factor. The results of this project indicate that the real data obtained from the PV plant output strongly coincide with the predicted one acquired from PVSyst and SolarGIS tools. Besides , the analysis indicates that the module temperature and performance ratio has a strong correlation coefficient (0.91). Moreover, the degradation of the PV plant performance ratio during the monitored period is quantified using a linear regression model, and it is estimated at 0.76%/year. Finally, the performance indices of the PV plant are found satisfactory in comparison with the large-scale PV systems situated at other locations in the world reported from published literature.
Solar photovoltaic technologies are increasingly implemented in airport premises. In certain conditions of sun path, the glare from solar photovoltaic modules may the reduce visibility of pilots and air traffic controllers. Despite the threat to aviation safety with solar installations in airport, only a few countries have framed regulation on glare impact. The paper attempts to study the various factors affecting the occurrence of glare from solar PV array in Airport. The main objective is to review the approaches and metrics for assessing the glare impact from the solar photovoltaic array. In addition, the work summarises the glare guidelines existing in USA, Canada and European nations. The main factors that influence the glare occurrence are suns position, tilt angle, Surface texture, color and location of PV module. It was concluded that the existing glare assessment approaches are of limited practical use in the worldwide scenario. Though there are several limitations with the existing glare indices, the Ho et al metrics is reasonably a good indicator for glare assessment in airport solar PV installations. Guidelines formulated by Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA), USA is good enough to be used as guideline for glare impact assessment in other countries. It is envisaged that this work will assist the research communities for the development of the globally acceptable glare assessment and metrics.
The emerging floating photovoltaic (FPV) technology is the recent global attention in solar power production due to its high efficiency. Apart from the standalone FPV systems, hybridising the FPV system with the hydroelectric power plants (HEPP) will aid in increasing the power generation from HEPP by reducing the water loss through evaporation. In this study, the power generation and water-saving capacity of a model FPV system with various tilt angles, orientation and tracking mechanisms are analysed by covering 30% of the total area of Vaigai reservoir in India. The study shows that the proposed FPV plant with capacity of 1.14 MW generates 1.9 GWh of energy at its optimum tilt angle while saving 42,731.56 m 3 of water annually. Further, cost analysis and carbon footprint estimation are also carried out. The results show that the FPV system will have a positive impact on the environment by saving 44,734.62 tons of CO 2. ARTICLE HISTORY
An enormous area could potentially be unlocked, when more photovoltaic (PV) systems would be deployed on water bodies. Especially in densely populated areas this opens a pathway for PV to contribute to the energy transition in a large scale. Another potential benefit of floating PV (FPV) systems is that they can outperform conventional PV systems in terms of energy yield due to the cooling effect from the water. However, there is very little field data available to quantify the cooling effect and compare it across different climatic conditions. The research presented here has thoroughly studied this effect and translated it into an estimated specific yield comparison between conventional and floating PV systems. The study is based on field tests that are located in two different climate zones: a temperate maritime climate (the Netherlands) and a tropical climate (Singapore). Irradiance weighted average temperatures of FPV systems have been compared with a land-based system in Netherlands and a rooftop system in Singapore as references. The best performing FPV systems showed 3.2 °C (Netherlands) and 14.5 °C (Singapore) lower weighted temperatures compared to their benchmarks. Open system designs, where the PV panels of the floating system are widely exposed to the water surface, lead to an increase in the heat loss coefficient of floating PV panels (a measure for the cooling effect) of up to 22 W/m²K compared to reference PV systems. Annual specific yields of the PV systems were estimated by the measured irradiance-weighted temperature difference and by a PVsyst model with inputs of the heat loss coefficients. Based on these calculations, we observe that the gain in energy yield from the cooling effect of FPV systems compared to the reference PV systems is up to 3% in the Netherlands and up to 6% in Singapore.
Large scale solar PV systems have a high priority among clean energy initiatives across the world. A comprehensive and more realistic analysis of the solar PV power plant is not reported yet. This study performs the energy, exergy, economic, environmental, energoeconomic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic (7E) analysis of conceptual 5MW land-based solar photovoltaic power plant in five locations of Malaysia. Solar irradiation and climate data for each location are collected from the meteorological database of RETScreen software. The energy, economic, and environmental performance of the proposed solar PV system is predicted using RETScreen software. The exergy, energoeconomic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic parameters are assessed using Microsoft excel based mathematical model. It is observed that the solar PV system proposed for all the selected locations will operate sufficiently well with a minimum 80% performance ratio (PR). The capacity utilization factor (CUF) varied between 17.04 % (Site 2) and 14.25 % (Site 4). The exergy efficiency varied between 11.35 % (Site 2) and 12.65 % (Site 4). The lowest value of the Payback period and LCOE is estimated to be 7.9 years and 0.102 respectively for the Site 2 solar PV system with consideration of GHG reduction revenue. The reduction in the GHG emissions is highest in Site 2, which is equivalent to 975.4 acres of forest and 1479.8 tonnes of waste recycled. Site 2 has the lowest exergoeconomic and energoeconomic parameters, as well as the highest enviroeconomic parameter. Hence, it is concluded that Site 2 has the best condition for implementation of solar PV system (80 % PR, 17.04 % CUF, 11.35 % exergy efficiency, 7.9 years simple payback period, 17.10 % internal rate of return, 0.102 USD LCOE, 4291 tCO2 avoided/annum, 0.0147 kWh/USD, 1.096 kW/USD, 42,916 USD) based on 7E analysis.
Renewable energy power generation should be more specific of what type of energy does it need to be used to cater to the demand of consumers. This should be more reliable, economical and efficient with making maximum benefit towards the environment. This research is based on Floating Photovoltaic Technology and the author has designed a 3MW FPV system, which it was then compared with other PV technologies developed around the world, and it was mainly analyzed by simulation results obtained by PVSyst software interface and using actual climatic data from NASA. Therefore, it was proved that the author designed the system generates more power compared to other methods and it gives more environmental benefits compared to other topologies. This system will give solutions to the problem of a negative impact on the environment with PV energy as it only uses water surface to integrate the PV.
Nowadays, airports' interest in solar photovoltaics (PVs) is increasing. It is a way to lower the burden of energy costs and to show environmental stewardship. This paper aims to study the application of PVs in the airport environment. Solar projects in airport areas across the world were studied to find the techno‐economic and environmental aspects of airport‐based solar PV application. The favorable factors for solar PV are observed to be effective land utilization, low height profile, versatility, flexibility, and mature silicon PV technology. The major considerations for airport‐based solar PV applications were glare occurrence, radar interference, and penetration into airspace. Airport's weather and soil conditions, selection of PV technology, glare impact, site selection, and grid interconnection issues were the technical challenges. It was observed that economic factors such as reduced energy cost, life cycle cost, and sustainability grants and incentives make solar projects in airports attractive. Carbon mitigation and achievement of sustainability goals through solar PV installation emphasized the environmental stewardship of airports. From case studies, it was understood that prior planning, glare assessment, and careful implementation are essential for the success of airport‐based solar PV farms. Airport‐based solar PV has immense scope in the near future. This paper aims to study the application of photovoltaics (PVs) in the airport environment. The major considerations for airport‐based solar PV application are glare occurrence, radar interference, and penetration into airspace. It was observed that economic factors such as reduced energy cost, life cycle cost, and sustainability‐focused grants and incentives make solar projects in airports attractive. Carbon mitigation and corresponding achievement of sustainability goals through solar PV installation emphasized the environmental stewardship of airports.
This paper investigates the value of using existing irrigation infrastructure to store surplus photovoltaic energy in a farmhouse. The irrigation system includes a reservoir and a water well. The depth of the water well is used to store energy in the form of gravitational potential energy. Throughout the day, photovoltaic energy is used to pump water from the bottom of a well to the reservoir at ground level, where this stored water is then used to meet demand by releasing the water back to the well through a hydro turbine. A controller is designed to manage the pump and the turbine efficiently to reduce daily electricity costs of the farmhouse. The proposed method is validated experimentally with a real pump and a turbine. The controller manages the pump power and turbine flow rate considering the losses of storage, the feed-in income, and the cost-saving for each decision. The proposed system is also simulated in MATLAB for a whole year using real data to investigate the economic aspects of this storage in different seasons with different irradiance, weather, energy demand, and water demand profiles.
The fast depletion of fossil fuels and the associated environmental problems increased the demand for an alternate energy source. One such promising renewable energy technology is the solar energy, with a common application of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Conventional PV system faces the serious disadvantage of occupying vast land resources for installation in megawatt scale. Thus, the novel concept of floating photovoltaic (FPV) technology is developed by accounting the value of land in agriculture and urban sites. The electrical yield in FPV-based system is comparatively due to the cooling effect from water which prevents overheating of solar panels. Out of several energy extracting technologies available in FPV systems, thin film technology is found to be highly efficient. It can also be seen as a propitious technology for future large-scale FPV systems. This paper presents a detailed review of thin film technology adopted in the FPV system.
Floating photovoltaic power plants are a quickly growing technology in which the solar modules float on water bodies instead of being mounted on the ground. This provides an advantage, especially in regions with limited space. Floating modules have other benefits when compared to conventional solar power plants, such as reducing the evaporation losses of the water body and operating at a higher efficiency because the water reduces the temperature (of the modules). So far, the literature has focused on these aspects as well as the optimal design of such solar power plants. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by i) assessing the impact of floating solar photovoltaic modules on the water quality of a hydropower reservoir, more specifically on the development of algal blooms, and by ii) studying the impact that these modules have on the hydropower production. For the first part, a three-dimensional numerical-hydrodynamic water-quality model is used. The current case (without solar modules) is compared to scenarios in which the solar modules increasingly cover the lake, thus reducing the incident sunlight from 0% to finally 100%. The focus is on microalgal growth by monitoring total chlorophyll-a as a proxy for biomass. For the second part, as the massive installation of solar modules on a reservoir may constrain the minimum water level (to avoid the stranding of the structures), the impact on hydropower revenues is examined. Here, a tool for optimal hydropower scheduling is employed, considering both different water and power price scenarios. The Rapel reservoir in central Chile serves as a case study. The response of the system strongly depends on the percentage that the modules cover the lake: for fractions below 40%, the modules have little or no effect on both microalgal growth and hydropower revenue. For moderate covers (40–60%), algal blooms are avoided because of the reduction of light in the reservoir (which controls algal growth), without major economic hydropower losses. Finally, a large solar module cover can eradicate algal blooms entirely (which might have other impacts on the ecosystem health) and results in severe economic hydropower losses. Altogether, an optimum range of solar module covers is identified, presenting a convenient trade-off between ecology health and costs. However, a massive deployment of these floating modules may affect the development of touristic activities in the reservoir, which should be examined more closely. In general, the findings herein are relevant for decision-makers from both the energy sector and water management.
The combined increase of energy demand and the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere force the power generation to ride by a sustainable path. Photovoltaic conversion is one of the emerging technologies pointing out as a potential source of energy for the coming years. The aim of this study is to propose a sustainable hydro-solar model to substitute the current model of power production in Brazil. The review of floating PV power plants has pointed very small participation of this technology despite the exceptional country’s geophysical condition. The big land extension occupied by solar panels to generate significant amounts of energy suggests the use of open water surfaces for the installation of large PV plants. The expressive amount of flooded areas by Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HEPP) reservoirs was evaluated to identify the potential for the implementation of PV Floating Power Plants (PV-FPP) near the HEPP dams. As a result of this study, the authors had found that by using less than 10% of their surface the HEPP reservoirs in Brazil can accommodate PV-FPP supplying the electricity demand with solar energy during peak irradiation hours while balancing grids with hydro-power during low/no irradiation times, improving the operational flexibility.
The GDP of Pakistan is deteriorating by power shortage. The floating PV on lakes and dams can address this problem by generating energy at cheaper rates and reducing evaporation of water at the same time. A criterion is selected to find the best location based on available solar resources, nearby load, storage of land, and performance parameters such as energy yield, capacity factor, levelized cost of energy and net present cost. The analysis shows that the best location for floating PV system in Pakistan is Chinna Creek in mega city of Karachi. The solar GHI in Chinna Creek is 6.1 kWh/m2/day, where land is scarce. This site can generate electrical energy by floating PV system at energy yield of 2345 kWh/kW, which is 8.6 % higher than the land-based PV system. The total national installed capacity of Pakistan in 2017 is 28 GW while the analysis show that Pakistan has capabilities of 190 GW installed capacity in the form of floating PV systems. A detailed analysis of the floating PV system and its comparison with the land-based system is provided as a guideline for policy makers.
Compliant offshore platforms are sensitive to aerodynamic loads. Triceratops is one of the new generation compliant platforms consisting of a deck, which is connected to buoyant legs through ball joints. Ball joints partially isolate the deck from buoyant legs by transforming translational motion and restricting the rotational motion. Buoyant legs are connected to the seabed using taut-moored tethers. This study is carried out to assess the dynamic response of triceratops under the wind, wave and current loads at a water depth of 2400 m in different sea states. Numerical analysis is carried out using ANSYS AQWA under moderate, high and very high sea states. Results of studies show that aerodynamic load resonates response of deck in different degrees of freedom under moderate and high sea states. Pitch response of the deck is insignificant, verifying the satisfactory design of the conceived geometry. Statistical analyses show that the response increases with the increase in wave height and wind speed, but lesser than a surge in all sea states. Presence of current induces a shift in the mean position of surge response, and the platform oscillates at this new mean position; this shift increases with an increase in the sea states. Pitch response is significantly reduced under the combined wind, wave and current loads.
Off-shore Floating Solar Photovoltaic and Wind Power installations are two potential future clean energy technology options which are being considered by energy developers. Environmental impacts must be evaluated on project-by-project basis as these are site-specific. In the present work, we propose a method for determining baseline reference level of underwater ambient noise in tropical marine coastal shallow waters. The underwater ambient noise has been measured at 30 m depth at a site near Grande island (15°18′ N 73° 41′ E) 18 km off Goa, on India’s western coast during 2012–2016. Analysis of recorded data shows that the noise levels in general have increased by a margin of 10–24 dB over the observed frequency band of 10 Hz to 100 kHz, at the site. Therefore, the impacts of clean energy development projects on marine environment need to be evaluated carefully.
The floating photovoltaic (FPV) system is a new power generation system which has attracted a wide attention
due to its numerous advantages. Apart from power generation, the system can reduce the water evaporation.
Development of FPV power plants requires studying both mechanical and electrical structures of these systems.
Many studies have been conducted on FPV systems which have assessed these systems from different points of
view. In this paper, an analytical analysis and updated review that studies different aspects of FPV systems as a
power generation system is presented. Also, a comparison between the ground mounted and floating PV systems
is presented and the gaps of the reviewed subjects are indicated. Furthermore, the applicable FPV array interconnection schemes are discussed and the most favorable reconfiguration schemes for FPV arrays are shown, also multilevel DC-DC converters for grid integration of FPV panels are investigated. Reviewing the articles
indicated that the main focus of the researchers was on the experimental study and mechanical investigation of
FPV systems as well as the impact of the application of these systems on water evaporation. The present research
has a potential to make a contribution to the electrical design and application of FPV panels which are less
described in the existing papers.
The canal-top PV systems have different environmental conditions than the land-based system which may affect its performance and degradation rate. The performance and reliability of PV modules on the canal and reservoir are critical for ensuring the long lifetime, improvement and economic viability of the canal-top PV systems. The long-term performance analysis of the canal-top PV systems and their comparison with conventional land-based PV systems is not reported widely. The objective of the present study is to assess the suitability of PV systems on the canals for their large scale installations and reliable operation. In order to understand the long-term performance behavior of the PV systems on the canals, the performance and degradation analysis of world’s first commercial multicrystalline silicon (Multi-Si) based 10 MWp canal-top PV system installed in the Indian state of Gujarat has been carried out for their initial 2 years 8 months operation. An experimental setup was fabricated to compare the performance of canal-top PV systems with the conventional land-based PV systems and measurements were carried out in the outdoor conditions for six months in the outdoor laboratory of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. To achieve a better understanding of the performance and degradation of PV modules, a single-diode PV model was developed to characterize the PV modules. Furthermore, the evaporation loss reduction by canal-top PV systems has not been reported widely and has been experimentally quantified under this study. The annual average performance ratio and degradation rate of 10 MWp canal-top PV system are found to be 77.85% and 1.93 ± 0.28%/year, respectively. Experimental comparison of water tank-based PV module and land-based PV module shows that the average performance ratio of Multi-Si module on the water surface is about 1.5% lower compared to land-based Multi-Si module which is contrary to the general perception of higher power production by the Multi-Si PV systems on the canals.
China has begun to promote offshore photovoltaic in coastal areas taking its advantages of saving land resources and proximity to load centers. However, the projects are bound to face a series of risk factors as the industry is in its infancy. This paper conducts a risk assessment on offshore photovoltaic power generation projects in China based on a fuzzy framework. Firstly, 16 risk factors affecting offshore photovoltaic power generation projects in China are identified and classified into 4 groups. Secondly, a risk assessment model is constructed involving Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Term Sets, Triangular Fuzzy Number and Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation. Thirdly, this paper conduct an empirical study of China, and the result shows that the risk level of offshore photovoltaic power generation projects in China is medium high. Finally, some response measures are proposed. The risk index system and corresponding countermeasures can provide a reference for project managers to allocate resources to prevent risk events. Besides, the risk assessment model can help project investors to avoid too risky projects. In addition, the risk assessment on offshore photovoltaic power generation projects in China has not been discussed by scholars yet. Thus, this paper contributes to the literature and expand the knowledge.
Considering the targets of Thailand in terms of renewable energy exploitation and decarbonization of the shrimp farming sector, this work evaluates several scenarios for optimal integration of hybrid renewable energy systems into a representative shrimp farm. In particular, floating and floating-tracking PV systems are considered as alternatives for the exploitation of solar energy to meet the shrimp farm electricity demand. By developing a dynamic techno-economic simulation and optimization model, the following renewable energy systems have been evaluated: PV and wind based hybrid energy systems, off-grid and on-grid PV based hybrid energy systems, ground mounted and floating PV based hybrid energy systems, and floating and floating-tracking PV based hybrid energy systems. From a water-energy nexus viewpoint, floating PV systems have shown significant impacts on the reduction of evaporation losses, even if the energy savings for water pumping are moderate due to the low hydraulic head. Nevertheless, the study on the synergies between water for food and power production has highlighted that the integration of floating PV represents a key solution for reducing the environmental impacts of shrimp farming. For the selected location, the results have shown that PV systems represent the best renewable solution to be integrated into a hybrid energy system due to the abundance of solar energy resources as compared to the moderate wind resources. The integration of PV systems in off-grid configurations allows to reach high renewable reliabilities up to 40% by reducing the levelized cost of electricity. Higher renewable reliabilities can only be achieved by integrating energy storage solutions but leading to higher levelized cost of electricity. Although the floating-tracking PV systems show higher investment costs as compared to the reference floating PV systems, both solutions show similar competiveness for reliabilities up to 45% due to the higher electricity production of the floating-tracking PV systems. The higher electricity production from the floating-tracking PV systems leads to a better competitiveness for reliabilities higher than 90% due to lower capacity requirements for the storage systems.
Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems, also called floatovoltaics, are a rapidly growing emerging technology application in which solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are sited directly on water. The water-based configuration of FPV systems can be mutually beneficial: Along with providing such benefits as reduced evaporation and algae growth, it can lower PV operating temperatures and potentially reduce the costs of solar energy generation. Although there is growing interest in FPV, to date there has been no systematic assessment of technical potential. We provide the first national-level estimate of FPV technical potential in the United States using a combination of filtered, large-scale data sets, site-specific PV generation models, and geospatial analytical tools. We quantify FPV co-benefits and siting considerations such as land conservation, coincidence with high electricity prices, and evaporation rates. Our results demonstrate FPV’s potential to contribute significantly to the U.S. electric sector, even using conservative assumptions. FPV systems covering just 27% of the identified suitable water bodies in the contiguous United States could produce almost 10% of current national generation. Many of these eligible bodies of water are in water-stressed areas with high land acquisition costs and high electricity prices, suggesting multiple benefits of FPV technologies.
