DNV GL has been roped in by the National Water Agency PUB of Singapore as technical advisor for the planned 50 MW floating solar PV plant for Tengeh Reservoir. The Norway based technical advisory firm said this is the first large-scale public tender for floating PV technology in Southeast Asia.
In June 2019, PUB issued a request for proposal for a 50 MW floating solar PV system with the electricity generated to be used to its power water treatment plants (see RFP For 50 MW Floating Solar Plant In Singapore).
As the technical advisor, DNV GL will support PUB through tender preparation, bidding, design, construction and operational phases of the project that will comprise a 'pioneering business model' consisting of both conventional and renewable energy components.
The Norwegian agency will carry out a preliminary design, independent energy assessment, technology benchmarking and business model studies for the project through its local energy experts, following it up with tender support and proposal evaluation during the bidding phases. Part of its job also includes conducting design, testing and commissioning reviews during the construction phase. Once the project becomes operational by 2021, DNV GL will also undertake performance analysis and site testing.
DNV GL said it has worked on close to 800 MW of floating PV projects in the Asia Pacific region till date, but the scale of Tengeh Reservoir project makes it an important milestone in the development of this rapidly emerging technology that could provide energy enhancement in places with land scarcity like Singapore.
However, this isn't the world's largest floating PV plants. In March 2019, China's CECEP commissioned a 70 MW floating PV project in China using Ciel & Terre's Hydrelio platform (see World's Largest Floating PV Project Online). It was followed up by LONGi Solar announcing in April 2019 about supplying its high efficiency monocrystalline solar modules for a 150 MW floating solar power plant in China's Anhui province (see LONGi Modules For World's Largest Floating PV Plant).
According to the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and the World Bank, global installed floating solar PV capacity reached 1,314 MW in 2018 with 786 MW added during 2018. Previously, in late 2018 they wrote in a report that if he world decided to use 1% of total surface area to install floating solar PV panels, it could easily reach 404 GW of total capacity. Using 5% surface area carries potential for 2,022 GW of floating PV and 10% area might lead to 4,044 GW of floating PV being deployed