Floating photovoltaic solutions are on the rise globally.
According to SolarPower Europe's first industry report, the floating photovoltaic solution is on the rise globally. In recent years, floating photovoltaics have developed rapidly worldwide. According to SolarPower Europe, the expected annual growth rate of this technology is 22%. The company has released the "Floating Photovoltaic Best Practice Guide 1.0", which is the first report on floating solar energy.
According to the report, using 10% of the world's reservoirs can provide a capacity of 23,317 GWp. Analysis data shows that meeting the current energy demand of the European Union with solar energy requires mobilizing 0.26% of the EU's land. However, countries with small land areas, high latitudes, or dense populations may have limited land available for solar energy deployment. Therefore, floating photovoltaic solutions (FPV solutions) can not only provide a solution for generating clean energy, but also minimize pressure on land availability. In addition to lakes and reservoirs, floating solar energy can also be applied to the sea, although this requires the design of photovoltaic panel components to withstand more corrosive environments, strong winds, as well as waves and currents.
There are three main types of floating photovoltaic technology on the sea.
Firstly, the floating bridge with photovoltaic panels is installed at the top and anchored on the seabed. Secondly, the solar panels are placed on a platform with a grid structure, supported by submersible floating elements and anchored on the seabed. Finally, flexible structures in the form of sheets or membranes that follow wave motion.
There are different types of floating solar panels based on factors such as water environment, weather conditions, and water characteristics. The most suitable system will depend on characteristics such as wind, temperature, or ocean salinity.
Currently, approximately ten European offshore floating photovoltaic system technology developers have installed or are developing pilot plants, although most of them are installed in protected or inland waters. These projects are located in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, and other places.
The Evolution of Floating Photovoltaic Technology
In 2007, Japan built its first floating photovoltaic system, and subsequently other countries such as France, South Korea, and the United States conducted research using micro-FPV devices. Finally, the first commercial FPV factory was a 175 kW system built in California in 2008. The report states that in 2015, the FPV market was considered a niche market as global installation levels remained below 100 megawatts. However, the emergence of new markets in Southeast Asia and the unsealing of submerged mining areas in China have unleashed exponential growth in floating solar power generation. From 2015 to 2017, the cumulative installed capacity of FPVs increased by 743%, from 70 megawatts to nearly 600 megawatts. Between 2015 and 2017, the cumulative installed capacity of floating solar energy increased from 70 megawatts to nearly 600 megawatts, an increase of 743%. By September 2018, this number had increased more than 100 times, reaching 1.1 gigawatts, almost doubling compared to 2017.
From 2019 to the end of 2022, global floating solar power generation is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51%. This highlights the significant year-on-year increase in average installation volume. In 2022 alone, 2.3 gigawatts were installed globally, with a cumulative capacity of 5.7 gigawatts, an increase of 68% from the previous year. As for Spain, the first floating solar prototype was implemented in the Spanish waters of Valencia Port in September this year. Currently, the world's largest FPV market is in China, accounting for approximately 70% of the total capacity (approaching 4 gigawatts in 2022).
The rest is attributed to Japan and South Korea, followed closely by Europe. Looking ahead, as land scarcity and rising land costs continue to drive demand, it is expected that the global FPV fleet will steadily grow.
The World Bank estimated in 2018 that if 10% of the total area of artificial freshwater is used, the technological potential of floating solar energy is slightly higher than 4 TW. Recent studies have shown that approximately 4.5 TW can be installed globally in hydroelectric power plants alone, accounting for 25% of the coverage. However, IEA PVPS experts predict that the cumulative installed capacity will exceed 60 gigawatts by 2030.
