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An international group of scientists has designed a patented mooring technology and a vertical photovoltaic system that reportedly allows bifacial solar panels to be aligned with the prevailing wind direction to evacuate wind loads. Depending on the latitude of the project, the system can provide different energy yields.
An international research group has developed a vertical photovoltaic system design for offshore applications.
Called PVSail, the novel system allows the floating structure to align itself with the prevailing wind direction to deflect wind loads.
“SolarMarine Energy’s patented system minimises environmental loads from wind and waves,” corresponding author Giuseppe Marco Tina told pv magazine . “We are currently concluding an extensive series of tank tests and small-scale trials in inland waters. A full-scale demonstration deployment near the coast is planned for 2025.”
The PVSail relies on a robust anchoring system, where the attached pole can rotate and change the orientation of the photovoltaic panels depending on the forces of wind and waves. The researchers, some of whom are part of the company SolarMarine Energy, expect it to be relatively cheap in shallow waters of up to 5m.
"As a result of the system constantly moving relative to the wind, the efficiency of the PV modules critically depends on the azimuth angle, which is not fixed but is determined by the dominant wind direction," the team noted.
To investigate the feasibility of such a system, the researchers performed a numerical analysis of two cases, both with identical photovoltaic panels. While one case considered a fixed azimuth that produces the most energy, representing a stationary system, the second represented the mobile sail, with azimuth changing from 0 to 180 degrees. Both cases were simulated under the conditions of Catania (Italy) and Nigg Bay (UK). In the case of the sail, the pitch angle was 10, 20 or 30 degrees. In all cases, the water albedo was assumed to be 0.07.
“Comparisons of AC unit energy yields between vertical systems with variable azimuth angles and tilted south-facing PV systems in Catania and Nigg Bay indicate a reduction in energy yield of approximately 9% and an increase of around 5%, respectively,” the academics note. “Shading effects arising from the design choices were not taken into account in this research.”
The group also explained that while the impact of reduced water albedo is limited, it significantly benefits at high latitudes above 40 degrees, where a vertical bifacial module with a 90-degree azimuth and adjusted albedo offers energy performance comparable to a standard PV module tilted at 20 degrees.
The system is described in “ PVSails: Harnessing Innovation With Vertical Bifacial PV Modules in Floating Photovoltaic Systems,” published in Progress in Photovoltaics . The research was conducted by scientists from the University of Catania (Italy), engineering firm Koiné Multimedia SAS, the University of Port-Said (Egypt), and SolarMarine Energy (Ireland). |
