THE 12th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED TOPICS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

March 25-27, 2021

Bucharest, Romania

Floating Photovoltaic Power Plants

2021 12th International Symposium on Advanced Topics in Electrical Engineering (ATEE) | 978-1-6654-1878-2/20/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ATEE52255.2021.9425257

Leonard Cătălin DOBRE, Alexandru Țurcanu and Aurelian Crăciunescu

Electrical Engineering Faculty, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania
leonard_dobre@yahoo.com, lex_andru@yahoo.com, aurelian.craciunescu@upb.ro

Abstract. Photovoltaic power plants require large ground areas,
conflicting with other land uses like agriculture or livestock.
Alternatively, large water bodies are available and could be used
as a basis for floating PV panels, reducing the need for land
acquisition and improving PV panels’ performances. This article
presents specific structures and components of floating PV
power plants, with rigid or flexible PV panels, arranged on a
floating or immersed support, and compare its potential
performances with ground mounted PV plants.
Keywords: renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, floating power
plants.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the last few years, total installed capacity of PV power
plants has faced a rapid increase and exceeded about 500
GWp in the end of 2018. It is estimated that an additional 500
GWp of PV capacity is projected to be installed by 2022-
2023 [1].
The floating PV power plants are fast developing. Multiple
medium-to-large commercial scale projects are currently
operational. Since the first commercial floating PV plant was
built in California in 2008, 22 photovoltaic power plants were
built in the world by the end of 2014, with the capacity
changing from 0.5 kW to 1157 kW. At the end of 2016, the
world floating PV installed capacity was more than 94 MWp.
Japan represented 60% of the world installed capacity with 56
MWp, followed by China (20 MWp), United Kingdom (10
MWp) and South Korea (6 MWp). In 2018, the floating PV
capacity reached 211 MWp, only considering the top 70
floating PV installations worldwide [2], [3], [4]. Currently,
the floating PV power plant with the highest installed
capacity, of 70 MWp, operates in China, where another
floating PV power plant with an installed capacity of 150
MWp will be build. Also, India is set to reach the 100 GWp
installed capacity in 2022 [5], [6].
The possible benefits of floating PV power plants are
multiple. It can be implemented in locations with a favourable
trade off compared to ground-based deployment, tacking
advantages of available and unexplored areas, as water
basins, and lakes. It can reduce evaporation, algae growth, the
formation of waves and coupled erosion effects. Installation
of FPV systems on water first saves land that may be
otherwise implemented for agricultural use, and second, the
natural cooling potential of the water body may enhance PV
panels’ performances, reducing the thermal drift. In addition
to these advantages, a lower number of obstacles causing
shading loss and a lower amount of dust compared with land-
based PV power plants are further advantages [7], [8]. All this
is leading to floating PV power plants becoming a hot topic
of research at the moment. These systems are categorized in
four main groups with respect to their supportive structures:
(1) tilted arrays: needs rigid pontoons; (2) submerged: it
might be installed with or without pontoon; (3) thin film: no
strong pontoon is required as the supporting structure due to
low weight of the thin film modules; and (4) a new approach
using microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM)-
based pontoon modules [9].
This paper presents specific concepts, structures and
components of floating PV power plants, made with rigid or
flexible PV panels, arranged on a floating or immersed
support. Their advantages and disadvantages are highlighted
by comparison with ground mounted PV power plants. Some
floating PV power plants are presented together with their
performances.
II. FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS WITH TILTED PANELS
In Figure 1 is shown the general structure of a floating PV
power plant with tilted PV panels on a rigid pontoon. The
tilted PV rigid panels (1) and its mechanical support
structures (2) are seated on the pontoons (6). The mechanical
support structure (2) is anchored by the weights (7) by means
of the cables (5). The electric power produced by the PV
panels (1) is delivered by the underwater electrical cables (8),
through the power station (3), to the electrical line (4).
Fig. 1. The structure of a floating PV power plant: 1 – PV panels; 2 –
mechanical support structure; 3 – electrical substation; 4 – electricity
transmission line; 5 – mooring cables; 6 – floats or pontoons; 7 – mooring
weights; 8 – underwater electrical cables.
The supporting mechanical structure of floating PV power
plants differs from those of ground PV power plants because
they cannot have a rigid position due to the wind, and cannot
have a permanently flat surface due to the waves. They are
made of floating modules with rigid or flexible connections.

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 PV panels with a nonzero tilt angle have a more expensive
mechanical structures than zero tilt angle systems, have a
lower heat transfer capacity to the water body and require a
larger seating surface, to avoid mutual shading; instead, they
capture more solar energy and can be washed easier.
Figure 2.a shows a floating PV generator with tilted panels.
The buoyancy of the mechanical support is ensured by
cylindrical polyethylene pontoons. The PV panels have the
normal direction tilted and are spaced apart, in the tilt
direction, to not overshaded each other.
A simple method of increasing the electricity provided by a
PV generator is to supplement the incident solar light on the
PV panels using flat reflective radiation concentrators.
However, flat light irradiance concentrators cause uneven
temperature distributions along PV panels, which can shorten
the life of PV panels. Fortunately, in the case of floating PV
power plants, these temperatures unevenness of PV panels
can be eliminated using water cooling, and water is available
in the immediate vicinity. In figure 2.b is shown a floating PV
generator with tilted PV panels associated with flat reflective
light concentrators.
When sizing the mechanical support structures of the PV
panels, the forces exerted by the wind on the PV panels and
on the parts of the platform located above the water must be
taken into account. The forces exerted by the wind are of two
types: load-bearing forces and pressing forces. The load-
bearing forces have the normal direction on the wind
direction and the pressing forces have the wind direction. The
load-bearing force exerted by the wind on a body depends on
the difference in pressures to which the faces of the body are
subjected, and the pressing force exerted by the wind on the
same body depends on the area of the surface subjected to the
wind pressure. In the case of PV panels placed on pontoons,
the two type of wind forces have maximum values when the
wind direction is the same as the tilt direction of the PV
panels (Fig. 2.c) and have minimum values when the wind
direction is perpendicular to the vertical plane of the tilt
direction (Fig. 2.d).
Fig. 2. Regarding the floating PV generator on pontoons: a) PV generator
with tilted PV panels and access path; b) PV generator with flat reflecting
light concentrators; c) PV panel on floating support, in the position of
maximum aerodynamical resistance; d) PV generator on floating support, in
the position of minimum aerodynamical resistance [3]. [9].
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III. SUBMERGE FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS
In Figure 3.a is shown the PV generator of a submerged
floating PV power plant. First advantage of submerged PV
panels is that they operate with a low thermal drift, ensured
by the relatively constant temperature of the water around
them, lower than the temperature of the air above the water.
As a result, due to the submersion, PV panels will operate
with higher conversion efficiency than if they were placed
above water. In addition, their cleaning of any impurities that
would reduce their efficiency is done by the natural
movement of the waves caused by the wind.
Another advantage of water immersing of PV panels is that
water has a light refractive index of 1.33, while glass, that
protects PV cells, has a refractive index of 1.53. Therefore, it
can be said that the water layer behaves as n antireflection
layer that reduces energy loss of light energy through
reflection.
Solar radiation is partially absorbed when passing through
water. This absorption depends on the distance travelled by
the light rays and is different for the different wavelengths of
these rays, as it is shown in Figure 3.b. Fortunately, according
to those presented in the Figure 3.b, the spectral composition
of the solar radiation that reaches the PV panels after
traversing a layer of water with a thickness of about 10 cm is
comparable with the spectral composition of solar radiation
that can be captured by silicon PV cells.
Fig. 3. Regarding the submerged floating PV power plants: a) the submerged
PV generator; b) the spectral composition of the incident solar radiation
before and after traversing the water layers with various thickness and the
spectral composition of the radiation that can be captured by the silicon PV
cells [9].
IV. FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS WITH THIN FILM
Thin film PV modules are light and flexible. As a result,
due to their low weight, their supporting structures will be
lighter than those of conventional PV generators and, also,
due to their flexibility, their integrity will not be affected by
the presence of waves. The thin film PV modules of floating
PV generators are encapsulated in waterproof polymer foils
with high transparency and low rigidity. In the encapsulation
process, between the polymer foils and the PV thin film, to
contribute to the buoyancy of the PV modules, air bags are
included.
Figure 4.a shows a module of a floating PV generator with
thin film encapsulated in transparent polymer foil. Two floats
ensure the buoyancy of the thin film PV modules.
 a)

Fig. 5. Floating PV panel with microencapsulated phase change material

VI. SPECIFIC COST OF FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS

About the cost of the floating PV power plants, it is still
difficult to make a general correct estimation, as several
technologies still find their way into the market. Nowadays,
few floating PV power plant project exist, when compared to
b) ground-mounted PV power plants, and these are limited to
certain geographies, mainly Japan and China. This has to do
Fig. 4. Thin film floating PV generators: a) PV generator with external
buoyancy, anchored in four points [8]; b) PV generator with own buoyancy with the fact that several types of mounting exist and
anchored by a buoy [1]. anchoring still plays a major role in costs. Several specific
costs for floating PV power plant with the installed power
The whole assembly is anchored with cables by the
under 3 MWp is shown in Figure 6. The vertical axis stands
mooring weights. Figure 4.b shows a sketch of a floating PV
for the investment cost per Wp installed, the size of the
generator with flexible thin film, with its own buoyancy,
bubble represents the size of the power plant; the size legend
connected to a buoy anchored with weights.
for each plot is on the upper right corner and the color of the
V. FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS WITH bubble represent the region [15].
MICROENCAPSULATED PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL
During the operation of a PV power plant, the temperature
of the PV cells increases as the level of the absorbed solar
radiation increases. To limit the increase in cell temperature
to a certain value, which should be kept constant even though
the level of solar radiance continue to increase, it has been
proposed to use latent heat accumulators [8], [11, [12]. These
accumulators are made of so-called phase-changing materials,
whose states of aggregation change at constant temperatures,
although, for these changes, they exchange heat with the
environment. Thus, for most phase-changing materials,
during their transition from solid to liquid state, the
temperatures remain constant at a value between 20 and 60 Fig. 6. Specific costs of floating PV power plants below 3 MWp [15].
Celsius degrees.
Figure 5 shows a rigid floating PV panel which has VII. EXAMPLES OF FLOATING PV POWER PLANTS
attached on the back a latent heat accumulator, made in a
form of a series of capsules with phase change material. In the Figure 7.1 is shown a floating PV power plant that
When the temperature of the PV panel has risen and become completely covers an irrigation water tank to reduce
equal to the specific melting temperature of the attached heat evaporation while producing electricity. The system consists
accumulator, the temperature of the PV panel’s cells will stop of 1458 PV panels supported by 750 pontoons, covering a
rising because the heat they develop, at the level of absorbed water area of 4490 m2. The total installed power is 300 kWp
solar radiation, be taken up at constant temperature by the and the annual electricity production is 425 MWh. The
latent heat accumulator. Some phase change materials have amount of water saved from evaporation annually is 5000 m3,
lower density than water and can contribute to the buoyancy a value that represent 25% of the storage capacity of the tank
of the PV panels on the back of which they are attached. [13].

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a) b)
Fig. 7.1. Floating PV power plant placed on an irrigation water tank: a) a
general view; b) a PV module on a floating support [13].
In the Figure 7.2 are shown two rotating floating PV power
plants. These PV plants follow the diurnal movement of the
sun, so that the angle of incidence of the sun’s rays on the PV
panels is always as close as possible to 900. Compared to a
south facing stationary PV power plant, the energy captured
by the rotating PV power plant is higher by about 28%.
a) b)
Fig. 7.2. Rotating floating PV power plants: a) PV power plant of 100 kWp;
b) PV power plant of 464 kWp [13]
In the Figure 7.3 are shown two floating PV power plants
placed on water canals. The PV power plant of Figure 7.3.a is
placed on an irrigation water canal, and the PV power plant of
Figure 7.3.b is placed on a water-cooling canal of a thermal
power plant [2], [14].
Fig. 7.3. PV power plants placed on the canals: a) PV power plant placed on
an water irrigation canal [2]; b) PV power of 1 MWp plant placed on the
water cooling canal of a thermal power plant [14].
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
This article made a presentation of the potential of floating
PV power plants. The specific concepts, structures and
components are highlighted. Their advantages and
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disadvantages to ground-mounted PV power plants are
compared. Finally, some representative types of floating PV
power plants are illustrated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work has been funded by the Operational Programmer Human
Capital of the Ministry of European Funds through the Financial Agreement
51675/09.07.2019, SMIS code 125125.
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