Floating PV is an exciting and rapidly emerging branch of PV. This segment, which uses water as the installation site, is also often characterized as the third leg of solar; land (utility) and buildings (rooftop)being the other 2. FPV has several advantages: it is island-neutral, its energy yields are higher, it reduces water evaporation, and improves water quality when relevant. Despite these undeniable advantages, FPV also has its own set of challenges, as with any nascent technology. This survey navigated the intricacies of FPV, covering different aspects of the technology all the way from its basics and key components to product-level description of the floats, the heart of an FPV system, along with a brief market overview and trends in the segment. As we synthesize the key findings, it becomes clear that while there's tremendous potential for FPV systems, there are certain factors that need to be addressed to reap its huge potential (see Key Characteristics & Components Of FPV).
At its core, the FPV system comprises 3 crucial components – floats, anchoring & mooring, and the solar module. Despite their significance, solar modules are of the least concern. While the availability of FPV-specific modules could offer more tailored solutions, it's not a roadblock. The changes required by FPV at the module level are relatively minor. Moreover, the module segment is already mature, benefiting from a well-established ecosystem. Several FPV suppliers have successfully utilized products off the shelf, demonstrating the flexibility inherent on the module side of FPV (see Exploring Advanced Solutions In Floating Photovoltaics).
Anchoring & mooring is paramount when it comes to FPV’s execution. They are also a key cost driver. Most importantly, anchoring & mooring is site-specific. The options for suitable anchoring & mooring approaches are almost as wide as the variety of water bodies. However, the segment is already benefiting from several accomplished FPV installations around the world; a lot of experience has been gained so far to handle further challenges. Floaters, which act as the foundation of an FPV system, also come in a plethora of choices. In fact, several manufacturers offer a wide range of floaters, giving installers a variety of options to select from based on their specific needs and environmental conditions. They support different layouts, water coverage ratios, and are designed for benign climatic conditions all the way suitable for typhoon regions. Pontoon-based systems are the most widely used, while there is also a membranes-based cost-effective alternative on offer from at least one manufacturer (See Membrane Based Solution For Floating PV Systems).
One aspect has not been discussed in this survey but is a very crucial aspect of FPV – and that is cost. Typically, an FPV system attracts about 20% to 30%higher CapEx, according to FPV solution providers. However, it may not be fair to make a direct comparison; while the oldest FPV system has been in existence for less than 15 years, the state-of-the-art utility wing of PV is backed by a well-established ecosystem of several hundreds of gigawatts. On the other hand, even at its early stage, FPV has high potential. As the number of deployments increases, FPV costs are sure to come down dramatically. Indeed, the segment has started growing fast in recent years with an increasing number of tenders being floated. In 2022 alone, FPV deployments have augmented by a third of the cumulative global installations till 2021, reaching around 4.3 GW.
S&P forecasts FPV to grow to 30 GW by the end of 2030, but it could be much more. One of the major impediments to FPV's widespread adoption is the lack of standards for a number of FPV aspects. However, there is a lot of work in progress; DNV published the world’s first design guidelines for floating PV systems and is collaborating with several industry partners to delve deep into the standards of FPV. With increased collaboration from industry players and institutes, the most important standards seem to be an item that can hopefully be checked off the list of FPV’s bottlenecks rather soon. On the other hand, while standards are important to ensure the effectiveness of the project throughout its lifetime, they may also make the execution more complex and increase the costs when overdone, sometimes even jeopardizing the project's feasibility itself.
The industry needs to be careful in this regard. Local legislation is not just another concern, but a larger one. Regulatory frameworks in many regions have not kept pace with technological advancements, hindering the rollout of FPV deployment. The next and another big concern is the lack of legislation frameworks for FPV. A deeper issue exacerbating this challenge is the lack of comprehensive understanding of FPV by local administrations. Without a robust grasp of FPV's benefits and requirements, delays in deployment are inevitable. However, there's a silver lining. Several European nations have recognized the potential of FPV and have proactively amended their regulatory landscapes. Countries like the Netherlands and France are leading the charge, showcasing a template that others can adapt (see Critical Aspects And Challenges In FPV Projects).
As for the execution of FPV, it has been implemented in a wide variety of water bodies and in different configurations. However, not every water body is suitable for FPV installation. Several factors pertaining to a water body influence costs. Here, technology-specific tenders can help a lot. While there were several FPV projects that were demonstrated in both a standalone setup as well as a microgrid, the most viable case would be the hybridization of FPV with hydropower plants. It not only brings several synergies, but the alliance maximizes the utilization rate of the existing power transmission infrastructure. For example, a hydroelectric facility in Portugal, where Isigenere built the FPV system for Portuguese utility EDP, increased capacity utilization significantly after adding the floating solar plant. The hybrid FPV system improved the business case. Taking this template, SolarDuck is exploring the idea of using power infrastructures of offshore wind farms with its offshore FPV solution. Offshore is a different dimension altogether, both in terms of opportunities as well as challenges – and here FPV is in the real nascent stages, even if the first big targets have been announced, like in the Netherlands.
In any case, FPV will grow fast onshore (and finally offshore likely as well) – and probably faster than anticipated in the long run, at least if solar history repeats itself.
The text is the conclusion part of the TaiyangNews Floating PV 2024 Report, which can be downloaded for free here.
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