Floating Solar Structure and Development

Floating solar photovoltaic (FPV)or photovoltaics refer to PV modules mounted on platforms that float on a water body, such as a reservoir or a lake. Renewable power is thriving, as innovation and technology are cutting down the costs of infrastructures and promising a clean energy future. Universal accessibility to electricity has become challenging for most governments in the sub-region as efforts to achieve the targets for 2030 draw close.

The market for renewable energy technology has seen tremendous growth as well as the innovations associated with it. Solar energy has been the perfect renewable energy source for the sub-region, with several countries having the most installations in solar energy. Over the years, there has been an increase in PV solar systems installed on farms, ground-mounted, and rooftops, this has led to inventions like floating solar PV to extend electricity coverage.

The solar panels are fastened on buoyant structures, which keeps them afloat on the water body surface. The FPV is an eco-friendly method of generating electricity with a combination of marine and renewable energy technology. The floating solar panels work like land-based systems, however, the inverters and the arrays are fastened on a floating platform, and the combiner boxes collect the direct current electricity after generation and convert it to alternating current by solar inverters. The electricity generated is transmitted through underwater cables to a transmission tower. The FPV platform design structure either uses pure floats or a pontoon with metal structures to support PV panels like the land-based systems.

A floating solar panel plant must have the following features; a solar module that has high humidity resistant, dustproof, lead-free, and well protected from the effects of water, anti-rust material, vertical and horizontal frames, buoyancy body; with polyethylene that can hold 2.5 times the weight, inspection footrest, and module mount assembly. The floating edifice must be made from magnesium alloy coating; which is highly resistant to corrosion.

In Africa, Tunisia recently inaugurated a floating solar power plant on the Tunis lake, which will add 265 MWh of clean energy into the network of the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) annually. Also, Kenya’s first floating solar system was installed on one of the reservoirs at Rift Valley Roses farm in Naivasha with a capacity of 69 kWp. In Ghana, the Bui Power Authority has completed the construction of an initial 1MWp of a proposed 5MWp Floating Solar PV System on the Bui reservoir.

The benefits of the FPV are water evaporation reduction, eco-friendly, improved performance as the water provides a cooling effect under high temperatures, improved water quality by reducing algae growth in freshwater bodies, and no land occupancy. However, it is capital-intensive and limited to large-scale installations.