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An international research team has produced a comprehensive summary of more than 300 published papers on floating photovoltaics, spanning from 2013 to 2022. The scientists outlined the benefits and challenges of the technology and pointed out gaps that should be filled by future studies.An international research team has compiled and reviewed published literature on floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems between 2013 and 2022 and how water-based systems compare to land-based ones. The paper summarizes the most important results from a wide range of studies on FPV systems and presents an overview of the state-of-the-art of the technology, its benefits and challenges, and highlights gaps in research.
The studys corresponding author, Ramanan Chidambaram Jayaraj, told pv magazine that the team reviewed more than 300 articles, as well as patents, industry websites and reports. The researchers plotted the power gain in FPV relative to terrestrial photovoltaic (LPV) systems for 19 different reports examining FPV technologies varying in size and tilt angle, as well as the efficiency gain for 10 different reports. For this report, the team excluded from their review studies that investigated submerged and partially submerged photovoltaics, as well as systems that were in contact with water for cooling.
“With 70% of the world covered in water, FPV research and development on ocean platforms opens a new era of solar energy with the advancement of robust floating structures,” the scientists stressed. “However, it must be kept in mind that the oceans are not necessarily calm, and harsh ocean currents can pose serious challenges to FPV structures. Therefore, research and development efforts that address this issue are crucial.”
The researchers noted that the results of the studies reviewed suggest that the higher energy production capacity of FPVs can potentially lead to a decrease of up to 85% in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) compared to LPVs, even at despite the higher initial capital investment. Data collected from the literature show potential energy efficiency increases of up to 35.9% for FPV compared to conventional systems. Several factors stand out that affect the ability to achieve this maximum performance, such as the irradiance level, the inclination angle, the temperature and the cooling effect, among others.
The team also observed a range between 0.1% and 4.45% for the efficiency gain of FPVs over LPVs, as well as improvements of 2.4% to 3.3% for FPVs employing the technology. of follow up. Furthermore, the studies reviewed showed that bifacial floating solar panels that also use dual-axis cooling and tracking effects could even achieve gains of 42.5% to 47.5%.
“Based on the comprehensive review spanning from 2013 to 2022, floating PV systems have been consistently shown to outperform conventional terrestrial solar PV systems under homogeneous conditions,” they concluded. Furthermore, they highlighted that FPV integrated with hydroelectric dams “not only maximizes renewable energy generation, but also capitalizes on existing infrastructure, potentially revolutionizing the energy landscape.”
The study includes an analysis of the challenges faced by FPV systems, noting that factors such as the variable elevation of the terrain in the path of the panels - as well as rocks, grass and other panels - can influence the effectiveness of the wind to cool the panels. He cites a case in which the temperature of an FPV was higher than that of a rooftop system during peak sunshine hours, highlighting that performance depends “largely” on the location of the system.
The group explains that certain limitations emerge from the analyzes reviewed in the study. “Existing techno-economic analyzes and predictions of FPV performance are typically based on software tools, which offer advantages in terms of cost, time and resource efficiency compared to traditional research methods,” he noted. “However, these software tools often require significant modifications to their user interfaces to properly adapt to the unique features and requirements of FPV systems. Furthermore, some studies have found that even reputable solar PV software may not be fully capable of accurately predicting the performance of FPV systems.”
The results of the review are available in the study “ Towards sustainable power generation: Recent advancements in floating photovoltaic technologies – ScienceDirect ”, published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews . The team consists of researchers from Curtin University Malaysia and Indias Bangalore Energy Institute and Assam Energy Institute.
The researchers stressed that “there is a pressing need to continue developing software dedicated to numerical modeling and prediction specifically adapted to FPV applications. “This development would allow for more accurate and reliable assessments of FPV performance, contributing to the advancement and widespread adoption of the technology in the renewable energy sector.” |
