SOLFLOT

ECO-DESIGN OF AN EFFICIENT FLOATING SOLAR PUMP SYSTEM

The market for photovoltaic solar power is well developed, but not so much that of mounting the panels in a floating mode on preferably inland waters of reservoirs or storage ponds. The opportunity offered by such systems lies in the fact that they have several advantages over a conventional photovoltaic installation: non-occupation of land that could be used for other purposes; 20-40% higher generation thanks to the cooling of the panels, bifaciality and optimisation of the layout of the plants in terms of angle and orientation of the panels; reduction of up to 33% of evaporation; structures less exposed to the wind than on land; non-consumption of drinking water for cleaning the panels; and allowing for the industrial reconversion of irrigation and industrial cooling ponds, or the possibility of hybridisation with the turbine in the hydraulic jumps of reservoirs, which enables better generation management and therefore better energy storage. Reservoirs in Spain, which are affected by the general public domain regulations, require further development of the regulatory framework, which is currently slowing down the implementation of the system. In the meantime, many floating solar plants are being implemented on agricultural and industrial ponds as a self-consumption solution in these sectors, with significant energy consumption.

In Spain alone, excluding reservoirs, there are around 60,000 water reservoirs that could be used for photovoltaic installations. The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has identified 106 state-owned reservoirs suitable for the installation of floating solar plants. In terms of generation, the potential market throughout Spain is estimated at around 8,600 megawatts (MW) in reservoirs and 10,000 in water reservoirs. There are irrigation and industrial ponds, old mining wells and several reservoirs in the Basque Country that could be used for floating solar photovoltaic installations. At present, the renewable generation park does not reach 3,000 MW of installed capacity in the Basque Country. 

EMICA SOLAR designs and supplies floating solar solutions and has led SOLFLOT. The circular economy consultancy firm, GRUNVER SOSTENIBILIDAD, and the project management company, NORAY ADVISORY, have been involved in its implementation.