Spanish Water Supplier Installs Maiden FPV Project

• Canal de Isabel II has completed its maiden floating solar power plant in Madrid with EU funding  
• It calls the 1.69 MW facility the 1st project to hybridize hydroelectric and PV generation 
• It is to be followed by 33 more PV installations the water supplier plans to install using its existing infrastructure  

Canal de Isabel II, the water supplier for Spain's capital Madrid, has completed its 1st floating PV (FPV) power plant on the reservoir of a century-old mini-hydroelectric plant. The project is planned to be followed by 33 new PV installations for the company's infrastructure, all supported by EU funds.  

All of these PV plants will be installed in tanks, treatment plants, sludge drying plants, storm tanks and treatment stations. Power generated by these plants will be used for captive consumption, and excess fed into the electricity grid. These projects will incur an investment worth €55 million. 

The 1.69 MW FPV project is the 1st facility in the series built for €2.1 million. Located near Torrelaguna mini-hydroelectric plant, it is equipped with more than 3,700 panels covering 11,680 m2. Canal calls it the 1st project to hybridize hydroelectric and PV generation.  

Ferrovial has provided EPC services for the plant. Earlier in March 2023, it announced bagging the project that's expected to generate over 2,000 MWh of clean energy annually and help reduce water evaporation from the reservoir. 

Once the plant comes online by the end of 2023, its performance will help the company evaluate the design for similar installations in the future for its reservoirs.  

Calling itself the largest electricity producer in its sector in Europe with a total of 109.31 MW distributed in more than 40 facilities in all phases of the integral water cycle, Canal has a goal to produce as much energy it consumes before 2030, from renewable or high-efficiency sources. 

Floating solar was one among the innovative PV applications discussed at the recent TaiyangNews Virtual Conference on Advanced Solar Module Innovations. Click here for conference summary.