PV plants on water: a look at floating plants

Floating solar plants are a promising alternative to traditional land-based photovoltaic systems.

Floating photovoltaic installations are built on platforms made up of floating buoys, and make it possible to take advantage of idle areas in reservoirs, lakes or can even be installed in the ocean.

Although they offer technical challenges compared to other types of plants, floating systems have proven increasingly viable in scenarios such as the Brazilian market, which has a mostly hydroelectric energy matrix and has many hydroelectric plant lakes available.

One of the main advantages of floating systems is greater energy yield: bodies of water offer lower temperatures that help to increase the efficiency of the solar panel.

Floating solar panels also benefit from the light reflected by the water, thus increasing energy generation, especially when using bifacial photovoltaic modules.

Traditional solar power plants require large areas of land, which can be challenging in densely populated regions. Floating photovoltaic plants, on the other hand, can occupy water areas, making better use of the space. This measure also solves another challenge: many reservoirs lose water due to evaporation, and photovoltaic modules reduce the speed at which water evaporates, keeping the reservoir level more stable.

There are countless successful projects around the world. The image above shows Poland's first floating solar farm, with a total capacity of 500 kW. The plant was built with 455 W crystalline photovoltaic modules and 6 inverters Growatt MAX 80KTL3-X LV.

The ideal operating conditions of the photovoltaic modules, which operate at reduced temperatures, and the high robustness of the Growatt inverter, prepared to operate in humid environments, enable the investor to make better use of their property in energy generation.

In addition to their basic functions, Growatt's MAX inverters have an intelligent online IV curve scanning and diagnostic system, which allows monitoring the health status of photovoltaic modules and detecting faults, reducing operation and maintenance costs.

Growatt inverters also have features that allow remote configuration and firmware updates, which facilitate diagnostics and avoid field visits, in addition to allowing users greater control over the operation of the photovoltaic plant.

Growatt's MAX series is designed to serve commercial, industrial and large-scale plants. Among its models, the MAX 125KTL3-X LV stands out, which is awarded by TUV Rheinland in All Quality Matters with the best performance in the 100-150kW category.

The inverter has 98,6% maximum efficiency, with a string current of 16 A, compatible with high power modules. It also has active arc protection (AFCI), Type II DPS on the DC and AC sides, IP 66 protection, as well as intelligent monitoring.

Due to its power and resources, especially the IP66 degree of protection, it can be an excellent option for floating plants, as they fit well in different plant sizes and provide high efficiency generation and reduced operation and maintenance costs for the photovoltaic plant.

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