Floating Solar Takes To The Open Sea

Article originally published in cleantechnica.com, on April 20th 2015

Like many other island countries, Malta is dependent on oil to meet much of its electricity needs. As an EU member, however, the country is required to produce at least 10% of its energy from renewables by 2020.

Sometime back, Malta was considering floating wind farms to increase renewables in its electricity mix. Given its location, solar power is also a good option. However, scarcity of land virtually rules out any plans to build large scale ground mounted solar plants.

Now you might argue why not build rooftop solar, but then to quote the Joker — Where’s the fun in that? Why not build the solar plants out in the seas?

Considering the attractive proposition of putting floating solar farms at sea, the Malta Council for Science and Technology has funded a 3 year project to look into the matter.

The EUR 200,000 project is led by Professor Luciano Mule’Stagno of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Malta, with Pandia Energy and General Membrane Ltd. as the industrial partners.

The project has been named ‘SolAqua’, and will test the technical and financial feasibility of floating solar panels in the open sea.

We have talked at length of the benefits of floating solar plants in several posts, and how several countries including Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, and the US have been setting up such plants in various sizes.

The reflection of the water surface and the cooling effect of the sea can increase the electricity yield from the solar panels in floating solar systems. But what makes SolAqua important is its ambition to take to the seas. A lot of the initial floating solar plants came up on still water bodies, perhaps the bravest commercial attempt (yet to be executed) has been announced by Brazil and India, who would be looking to install floating solar in dam reservoirs.

But installing and operating floating solar in the open sea would be an entirely different beast to deal with. Factors that are being studied at the moment include sea-worthiness, the effect of salt drying on the panels on their output, cooling and reflection effects, and corrosion.

SolAqua is a three-phase project. Phase 1 which was launched in December 2014, involves testing a prototype consisting of rafts with flexible panels on top of them. From here the project will move on to test proprietary designs proposed by the University of Malta. Promising results will pave the path for commercialization of the idea.

Photo Credit: University of Malta via university website

FLOATING SOLAR PANELS: A VIABLE SOLUTION?

article published in www.alternative-energy-news.info/, on April 1st, 2015.

Since 2011, French Company Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale floating solar solutions. Their innovative Hydrelio Floating PV system allows standard PV panels to be installed on large bodies of water such as: drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds, and hydro electric dam reservoirs. This simple and affordable alternative to ground-mounted systems is particularly suitable for water-intensive industries who cannot afford to waste either land or water.

How it works:

The main float is constructed of high-density thermoplastic (HDPE) and is set at a 12 degree angle to support a standard 60 Cell PV solar module. A secondary non-slip HDPE float is then used to link the main floats together and provide a platform for maintenance and added buoyancy as illustrated below.

According to Ciel & Terre, the system is easy to install and dismantle, can be adapted to any electrical configuration, is scalable from low to high power generation, and requires no tools or heavy equipment. It is also eco-friendly, fully recyclable, has low environmental impact and is cost effective. To date the system has been installed in the UK, and a Japanese system will be installed by March 2016.

Watch the video:

What do you think? Is this a viable solution? Leave your comments below…

How France Is Helping India Meet Its 100 GW Solar Target

Article published in cleantechnica.com, on april 14th, 2015.

During Modi’s recent visit to Paris, India and France signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in the fields of solar and other renewable energies.

The memorandum was signed between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and France’s Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. France is eyeing major cooperation with India in the field of solar energy. So far, French firms are involved in the production of 10% of the solar electricity output in India.

A joint statement issued by the two countries read:

France welcomes the very ambitious objectives set by the Indian government in terms of energy access to all and the development of renewable energy. France is already supporting India’s efforts to secure its energy supply and develop its sources of renewable energy, including solar power. India welcomed the target set by French companies aimed at developing 8 to 10 GW of solar energy in India by 2020-2022. France is also willing to support other renewable sources in India, such as wind, biomass and hydropower.

The Indian government was in talks with the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, or AFD) among others, to raise low-cost debt finance for both utility scale and rooftop solar power projects. President Hollande confirmed the target of AFD credit line of 1 billion euros over the next three years for sustainable infrastructure and urban development in India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande while jointly addressing the media

French solar projects developer Solairedirect SA has been present in India almost since the start of India’s National Solar Mission. While the majority of the company’s installations are located in France, India represents the second largest market for the company.

As of now Solairedirect has four solar projects in operation or under construction, with a total capacity of 72 MW. This includes a 21 MW solar PV plant inaugurated in Fazilka district of Punjab in Februray 2015. Very recently, the company won a new tender from the state of Telangana for three projects with a total installed capacity of 57.5 MW. As per its announcements at the Indian RE-INVEST international renewable energy investors summit, Solairedirect has set goals to install 2 GW of solar PV capacity in India over the next few years. If the company achieves its target, it could see India becoming its largest market terms of generation capacity.

The renewable energy arm of French state-run utility Electricite De France SA (EDF), EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN), and Luxembourg-based EREN have a 25% stake each in ACME Solar Energy Ltd, the solar energy arm of New Delhi-based ACME Cleantech Solutions.

In the deal notified in December 2013, ACME was to get Rs 5.5 billion spread over three years. Only last year, ACME Solar declared plans to own 1,000 megawatts of installed solar power projects by 2017.

PR Fonroche, a joint-venture between PR Clean Energy (India) and Fonroche Energie S.a.s (France) commissioned two solar photovoltaic based power plants (5 MW and 15 MW)  in Bikaner, Rajasthan. These projects were awarded to the company under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission’s Phase I Batch II scheme.

Incidentally, the first of the two projects of 5 MW capacity, which was commissioned in December 2012, was the first Indo-French collaboration in the Indian Renewable Energy sector.

Areva Solar (now closed), the CSP arm of nuclear major Areva had been awarded a contract by Reliance Power Limited to build a 250 megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP) installation in India.

Under the contract, AREVA was to build two 125 MW CSP plants using its Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology in Rajasthan. However, with Areva Solar closing its shutters, only one plant was realised and came online last year. The second unit is said to be in the planning phase.

In another interesting partnership, Bengaluru based  Enzen Global Solutions Pvt (EGSPL) has tied up with with the French company Ciel et Terre to build floating solar power plants in India. The State of Karnataka, (India) alone is said to have 36000 irrigation lakes of more than 24 acres. As per information on EGSPL’s website, a detailed project report (DPR) has been submitted to the authorities for the the state’s first floating solar power station on water, to come up on Nittur Lake of Tumakuru district.

For expansion in Eastern and North-Eastern India, Ciel et Terre has entered into an agreement with Klystron Electronics, which is one of the leading Electrical Construction House in Eastern India

Other French companies present in the Indian solar space include the oil major, Total, present through its subsidiary SunPower , and Alstom Power is engaged in four solar power plants of 25 MW for supplying steam turbines.

Photo Credit: French Embassy In India via Flickr