Enel Green Power’s Innovation Lab has installed experimental floating photovoltaic modules in Italy to explore the potential benefits, namely; greater efficiency, minimal land use, savings on water and a reduced impact on the ecosystem.
The experiment is currently underway in Catania, Italy, at the Enel Innovation Lab, where they have installed a 30KW solar plant on a floating platform. The structure is equipped with the same panels used for conventional plants, but with special technology to float the system on expanses of water such as lakes, reservoirs or even in the open sea.
The project consists of three photovoltaic systems, equipped with monofacial and bifacial modules, integrated into the same platform to test the different operating conditions and to check the functioning of the key features of the plant.
The data collected will be compared with that for plants located on dry land with conventional installations in order to assess the performance of the floating photovoltaic array.
A floating PV park offers potential benefits over its land-based counterpart, both from the performance point of view and from its impact on biodiversity because it can shelter birdlife, while not taking up land space, and avoiding encroachment on farmland, pasture, woods or forests.
A floating installation also means significant savings on water. In the areas occupied by the plants, the evaporation of the water below is reduced by as much as 80%. It is, therefore, possible to save large quantities of water for agriculture and for human use, while preserving the aquatic ecosystem beneath.
It also appears as if the panels are more efficient. The floating installations mean that the modules can be kept at a lower temperature, ensuring that the cells do not overheat, an effect that reduces the performance of the panels.
