Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FPV) deployment continues rapidly worldwide, outpacing under-standing of any concomitant environmental impacts. The findings in this study demonstrate that modelling, using an uncertainty framework, can provide useful insight into possible water body response. Specifically, this study found that FPV generally promotes cooler water temperatures that, coupled with deteriorated light conditions, slow phytoplankton growth. Results show that the location of an FPV on the water surface can significantly affect water body thermal dynamics, modifying phytoplankton response beyond the impacts of percentage coverage.
This work looks at a variety of other hybrid FPV energy sources with varying technology readiness levels. This paper concludes with the possibility of integrating different renewable technologies with existing FPVs and highlights the boons of doing so with some examples
The main objective of this work is to provide a comprehensive insight into this new technology, various research and developments that have been reported and potential future development. The critical review indicates that advancements in this technology shall focus on improved floating structure design, robust instrumentation, wireless monitoring, and sensing capabilities.
In this paper, researchers quantify floating photovoltaic impacts on lake water temperature, energy budget and thermal stratification of a lake through measurements of near-surface lateral wind flow, irradiance, air and water temperatures at one of the largest commercial German facilities, situated on a 70 m deep dredging lake in the Upper Rhine Valley, South-West Germany.
This study focuses on the dual use of the water area at a small-scale shrimp farm in western Taiwan for solar photovoltaic electricity generation and aquaculture. Based on the simulation results and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, recommendations are made for the design and operation of a solar-powered aeration system for shrimp farms.
This article discusses the mechanism of local micro-climate changes caused by fishery complementary photovoltaic (FPV) power plants to illustrate the impact of FPV power plants in a lake on the environment. It includes details about comprehensive albedo decreases relative to free water surface, water energy change and air vapor pressure deficits. The article also reveals that the FPV panels had a heating effect on the ambient environment, and that the range of this effect was related to water depth.
This report describes a design for an automated, offshore-fish farm, with solar, wind and hydro power as well as a durable, physical structure. The design discussed in the article includes three separate, self-maintaining energies: tidal, wind, and solar. Also included are descriptions of various offshore aquaculture cages intended for deep-water ocean designs.
This article concerns a dynamic model that simulates the main biochemical processes in a milkfish pond that is subject to floating photovoltaic (FPV) cover. The paper includes a model design description that includes details of variable components of the design, including: water temperature, phytoplankton, dissolved oxygen, fish and other variables. Results of the experiment are included, and include: calibration results, ecological effects, and trade-offs between fish and energy production.
This article concerns floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems, also called floatovoltaics, or aquavoltaics, a rapidly growing emerging technology application in which solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are sited directly on water. Along with providing such benefits as reduced evaporation and algae growth, it can lower PV operating temperatures and potentially reduce the costs of solar energy generation. This article provides the first national-level (United States) estimate of FPV technical potential using a combination of filtered, large-scale datasets, site-specific PV generation models, and geospatial analytical tools. The authors quantify FPV co-benefits and siting considerations, such as land conservation, coincidence with high electricity prices, and evaporation rates. Our results demonstrate the potential of FPV to contribute significantly to the U.S. electric sector, even using conservative assumptions.
This thesis investigates using a flexible crystalline silicon-based FPV module backed with foam, which is less expensive than conventional pontoon-based FPV. This novel form of FPV is tested experimentally for operating temperature and performance and is analyzed for water-savings using an evaporation calculation. The results show that the foam-backed FPV had a lower operating temperature than conventional pontoon-based FPV, and thus a 3.5% higher energy output per unit power. A case study of Lake Mead found that if 10% of the lake was covered with foam-backed FPV, there would be enough water conserved and electricity generated to service Las Vegas and Reno combined. At 50% coverage, the foam-backed FPV would provide over 127 TWh of clean solar electricity and 633.22 million m3 of water savings.
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