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An international research team has assessed the global status and potential of inland floating photovoltaic (FPV) installations, including analysis of the use of trackers and bifacial solar panels. An international research team has assessed the global status of inland floating photovoltaic (FPV) installations to support investment decision-making in FPV, including discussions on the use of trackers, various tilt angles and bifacial solar panels to increase performance. According to Carlos D. Rodríguez-Gallegos, corresponding author of the research, the study provides information on the status of FPV systems deployment worldwide and includes the use of trackers and bifacial panels. The data covers electrical performance, but also the influence of FPV on water and electricity savings in several countries. “This has been made possible by leveraging the world’s largest databases of FPV installations – more than 1,100 systems by 2022 – together with the world’s largest database of FPV-applied tanks,” Rodríguez-Gallegos told pv magazine . In fact, the research team used a global FPV database from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) of indoor commercial installations with 1,142 systems through 2022, and used another database of reservoirs, both natural and man-made, maintained as part of the SERIS Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, covering a total area of ??2,220,623 km2. Referring to the SERIS Global FPV Database, the group said it had been maintained by SERIS for more than eight years, and is “probably the largest database of its kind” as it contains information on operational FPV systems totaling 5.9 GW by the end of 2022. Researchers found that nearly 90% of installed FPV capacity is located in Asia and the leading FPV country is China, with “almost half of the cumulative installed capacity.” “The dominance of East Asian regions, namely mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, is due to their attractive feed-in tariffs, ambitious renewable energy targets and FPV-friendly regulations. However, other regions, namely India and Israel, have been catching up since 2019 and are now within the top 10 regions,” they said. It was also noted that since 2013, “the average size of FPV plants has grown from 0.09 MW to 1.40 MW in 2022, while the average power density has increased from 82 W/m2 to 123 W/m2 over the same time period.” The team analysed historical trends in FPV system size, floater types and suppliers. They found that China-based Sungrow and French floating PV specialist Ciel et Terre had supplied more than 100 projects by the end of 2022, but based on average project size, Sungrow was more than three times larger at 9.4 MW. Installation costs continue to decline. “We have observed that FPV systems can be economically viable under the right project conditions. For example, one project in India had a Capex as low as $0.41/W, demonstrating that FPV can be competitive with other renewable energy options,” said Rodriguez-Gallegos. The group investigated the overall potential of FPV in terms of capacity, power output and water savings for a variety of pitch angles, tracking configurations, as well as the use of bifacial panels. For example, they listed ten different types of FPV configurations with various fixed pitch angles, horizontal and vertical axis tracking, single or dual axis, and various orientations. He calculated that by installing FPV on 10% of the surface area of ??249,717 inland reservoirs, FPV capacity could reach up to 22 TW and cover all global electricity consumption and up to 5% of global water demand. Looking ahead, the researcher says the group next intends to focus on offshore FPV applications, investigating “energy potential, design considerations, costs, and operation and maintenance (O&M) challenges.” The article “ Global Floating PV Status and Potential” is published in Progress in Energy . It was written by researchers from SERIS in Singapore and the National University of Singapore (NUS), as well as from the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral in Ecuador, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Concordia University in Canada and Deakin University in Australia. |
