Developing a micrositing methodology for floating photovoltaic power plants

One of the most remarkable renewable energy applications is the floating photovoltaic (FPV) power plants in recent years. Although it reduces evaporation and increases solar energy production with the thermal cooling effect, determining the location for the installation of the facilities is a significant problem. There is a lack of a common methodology of evaluating the optimum deployment locations for FPV systems for micrositing of water reservoirs in anywhere in the world. Firstly, solar irradiance should be evaluated over the entire reservoir area because of the shading effects. There are also some dynamical constraints through the formation of extreme winds and water waves over the reservoir surface. Consideration of these restrictions provides a geographically suitable site location for FPV installation. In the present study, three essential natural constraints, namely solar irradiance, wind speed, and wave height, were analyzed over the reservoir of a dam located in the southwest of Turkey. The places where the insolation is high, and the wind speed and the wave height are both low in the entire reservoir area are spatially determined with this approachment, which is named as the FPV Convenient Reservoir Surface (FPV-CRS). The goal of this research is to offer a new methodology including essential guideline for micrositing of the FPV facilities.

Automated summary

One of the most impressive applications of renewable energy is the use of floating photovoltaic (FPV) power plants. However, determining the best locations for installing these facilities is a significant challenge. Currently, there is a lack of a standardized methodology for evaluating optimal deployment locations for FPV systems worldwide. This study analyzed three essential natural constraints, including solar irradiance, wind speed, and wave height, over a reservoir in southwestern Turkey to identify suitable sites for FPV installation. The results provide a new methodology, called FPV Convenient Reservoir Surface (FPV-CRS), which includes essential guidelines for micrositing FPV facilities.