L R AS Published on Sunday 5 December 2021 - n° 385 - Categories:floating power plant
Sea panel installation trials are underway
After rigid panels on calm waters, thin-film testing on the sea
Wave movement and strong wind make it impossible to install rigid solar panels on the sea or ocean in the long term. Hence the idea of placing thin films on the water and testing their behaviour. The Solar@seaII project carried out by the Dutch research organisation TNO uses two 7 x 13 metre floats with 20 kWp solar panels on top. They are made of a flexible material. They should offer the least resistance to waves
https://www.pv-tech.org/researchers-trial-thin-film-floating-solar-system-for-offshore-applications/
PV Tech of 29 November 2021
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German engineers want to make floating power plants cheaper and more efficient. The system consists of 40-metre-long, 80-centimetre-thick membrane tubes that are only inflated during installation on site. A 4.5 metre wide steel frame is fixed between them, on which the panels are mounted. Over the entire length of the tube, 24 PV modules can be placed. 25 pairs of tubes can be connected to form an island.
Bifacial panels were used. A clear membrane with an albedo of 0.6 is stretched under the steel frame (0.8 would be that of freshly fallen snow). To catch the sunlight the panels were spaced 5 cm apart. This prevents the panels from bumping into each other.
The elongated tubes partially follow the shape of the waves, and attenuate their amplitude a little.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/12/03/puffer-fish-inspired-floating-pv-structure/
Editor's note These two experiments show the desire to find a solution for the maritime space to be equipped with solar panels. Clearly, we have not yet found a way to tame the sea!
