Ciel & Terre is the second largest company in the floating segment with a deep understanding of the technology. The French company started out as a specialist for integration of rooftop and ground mounted systems, then stepped into the FPV segment in 2011 at a time when there were only a few pilot systems in the world that were based on different technologies. Ciel & Terre invented HDPE type floating bodies, which are assembled altogether to make a floating PV system.
Ciel & Terre not only supplies floaters, but also provides a full package of services, including design, engineering, anchoring, installation, and maintenance, as well as operations sometimes, which entirely depends on the project location. "In Taiwan, we can provide anchoring and overall installations, the same in Japan and lately in Europe, but this may not be the case in the US and Brazil," said Thomas Wattinne, product marketing manager, Ciel & Terre (see Ciel & Terre & HEXA Expand Taiwan Floating Solar Plant).
In the beginning, company relied mainly on OEM with close control on the quality, which is still the case with most of the regions, while the company has its own manufacturing facility in India. The company mainly supports local manufacturing to keep the costs low. Ciel & Terre has been offering its Hydrelio FPV system since 2011, which has undergone several upgrades since then with several add-ons, such as features to ease transport, improved stability, and reliability during maintenance. Hydrelio is a modular system with individual main floats for solar modules and secondary floats connected to the main floats to provide spacing to avoid shading of the modules and to provide additional buoyancy. Flexibility is the key highlighted design aspect of the Hydrelio system, according to the company. The secondary floats are equipped with a non-slipping surface, making them walkways for maintenance. The floats are interconnected with connection pins made of fiberglass and polypropylene (PP) to form a large platform. The floating system includes a fixing system and support for combiner boxes and string inverters. A spreader bar enables the connection of the mooring cables with the solar platform and spreads the load on 2 connection ears of the floats. The floats are made of UV-resistant HDPE material and support all kinds of silicon-wafer based PV modules due to the adaptable aluminum mounting system. The solar modules can be placed in various tilt angles facing south, north, or both (see Key Technologies And Market Leaders In FPV).
According to the listed specifications, this system can support solar panels of up to 700 W. Depending on PV tilt, array size could exceed a capacity of 15MW. The Hydrelio system can be anchored using various systems, including bottom, hybrid, bank anchoring, while it supports a variety of mooring designs adopted according to the specific site constraints. The electrical equipment and cables can be installed on the platform's specific support, which is fixed on maintenance floats or on shore. The platform is compatible with all types of inverters, including string inverters of up to 350 kW, and central inverters on shore or on floating barges of up to 8MW. The system is designed to handle high water level variations, recording 30 m variation at one project, while it also supports to be landed at bottom ground if required.
Ciel & Terre, while not a manufacturer of anchoring and mooring, has preferred partners that deliver such solutions under the quality control of the company. With such collaborations in place, the company offers fully designed FPV systems. Each solution is customized based on site specifications. Ciel &Terre manages all engineering work and performs site analysis and studies to offer the best solution in cooperation with the developer.
In order to ensure the FPV plant reliability and to deliver the 10-year guarantee with an option of 20years, Ciel & Terre commissions the FPV system by itself. Additionally, it offers training for the installation of its system and on-site construction supervision, including anchoring installation and final inspection of the platform prior to commissioning. Depending on the region, Ciel & Terre also provides construction and maintenance services to its customers. Hydrelio is suitable for both fresh and sea water installations. It is also BS6920 certified, making it suitable for use in contact with drinking water .Hydrelio has been installed in around 300 projects worldwide, with the largest installation being an 88MW FPV plant in Taiwan. The company is currently building 2 even larger projects: a 192 MW extension project in Taiwan and a 120 MW project in India.
The text is an excerpt from the TaiyangNews Floating PV 2024 Report, which can be downloaded for free here.