SolarPower Europe (SPE) has released what it says aims to serve as the 1st handbook to drive high-quality floating PV (FPV) projects by cataloging best practices and experience gained from initial projects installed in the space.
The Floating PV Best Practice Guidelines Version 1.0 is aimed to be a guide for project developers as they explore land-use efficiency as water-positive potential of onshore and marine floating solar technology offers an opportunity to expand solar energy use.
According to the report, at the end of 2022, the world had installed a total of 5.7 GW of cumulative floating PV capacity, having grown by 2.3 GW in 2022 alone. China remains the largest market for this technology, accounting for almost 70% of the global aggregate, followed by Japan, Korea and Europe.
In the European Union (EU), there are around 451 MW of grid-connected FPV projects, mostly located in the Netherlands. Referring to a recent study, the report writers point out that in the most realistic scenario, if 10% of the total reservoir surface available in the EU is covered with FPV panels, it could produce a total of 157 GW of installed capacity.
However, despite this immense scope, the roll-out of FPV systems in the bloc faces challenges such as lack of strong policy support, long permitting processes, and lack of social acceptance.
Offshore FPV is yet another dimension of solar PV application that needs to be explored as growing population and urbanization limit access to land. Nonetheless, this application is not without its own challenges, spanning from durability, design of the substructure, integration with the grid, O&M, environmental impact on marine life and lack of policy frameworks.
The report recommends a series of steps that need to be undertaken to grow support for FPV application, including increasing EU research and innovation funding for this technology.
"Solar growth is unparalleled, and we are working to achieve a minimum 750 GW EU target by 2030," said SPE Policy Advisor for Sustainability, Lina Dubina. "With these guidelines, we're outlining how floating PV can sustainably play a role in this growth, drive high-quality projects, and bring solar to new shores."
The complete report is available for free download on SPE's website.
Previously, SPE also launched its agrivoltaic best practice guidelines for agrisolar business models (see SPE Launches Agrisolar Best Practices Guidelines).
TaiyangNews is also set to launch its maiden floating solar PV report. It will be announced and published for free download on our website next week.
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