Integrated Development Prospects of Floating PV Solutions
Floating Photovoltaic Solutions and Its Integrated Development Prospects
The floating Photovoltaic solution is one of the key technologies for achieving carbon neutrality in coastal provinces of China. In the context of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" policy, solar and wind energy have become the most promising renewable resources.
China's coastal provinces have developed economies and high-energy consumption. To achieve carbon neutrality goals, it is necessary to produce and consume cleaner and low-carbon electricity. However, these areas have scarce land resources and cannot develop large-scale centralized photovoltaic and wind power projects. Meanwhile, relying on methods such as West East power transmission and onshore clean energy is difficult to meet the weight of renewable energy power consumption.
Therefore, shifting the goal of developing clean energy towards the ocean has become one of the important solutions and is also in line with the national energy development strategy.
The Integration of Floating PV Solutions
The integrated development of technologies such as floating PV solutions, offshore wind power, and ocean farms can share space and facilities, and shared energy will also promote the comprehensive development of marine resources and achieve the large-scale development of clean energy in the ocean.
The Integration with Offshore Wind Farms
In recent years, the combined generation of offshore wind and solar power has become an important research topic. The offshore wind power industry, facilities, and industrial chain have become relatively mature, and the development of offshore FPV solution is expected to achieve commercialization faster with the help of the energy system already established by offshore wind power.
The advantages of combining with offshore wind power projects are mainly reflected in increasing the output of clean electricity and improving the power generation per unit sea area. Shared access to power system equipment, shared equipment infrastructure, and reduced project costs. Smooth the output fluctuation of a single green power source, and wind and photovoltaic power can achieve high complementarity, achieving stable and continuous power supply. In terms of operation and maintenance, human and equipment resources can be shared, while offshore equipment can suppress the waves of wind farms to some extent.
European scholars have explored the potential of offshore wind power and FPV co-construction by establishing models. The results showed that after the joint construction of FPV solution and offshore wind power, the installed capacity and power generation per unit sea area increased by 10 times and 7 times, respectively, and the power output was smoother, with a 68% reduction in power fluctuation. This calculation is based on a simple model, and the integrated offshore power generation density can reach 57.5 MW/km.
However, this model did not fully consider the operation and maintenance space requirements of the integrated landscape. Taking an offshore wind farm in Guangdong as an example, FPV facilities are arranged in the wind turbine room area. The offshore wind power project covers an area of approximately 64 km2, with a total of 72 wind turbines installed and a total installed capacity of 400 MW.
A 220 kV offshore rising voltage station has been constructed in the wind farm area, connected to the onshore power system through a 220 kV submarine cable. The offshore wind solar integration design is shown.
The spacing between each fan arrangement is about 600 meters, and the spacing between each row of fans is about 1,500 meters.
Considering the operation, maintenance, and safety distance requirements of offshore wind turbines, a 400m channel is set between the FPV module and the wind turbine, and a 300m channel is set between the FPV modules. The entire wind farm can utilize an area of approximately 16.60 km2 for FPV construction. After considering factors such as anchoring systems, mooring systems, and floating space, the final FPV capacity can be approximately 1.5 GW. The first year's power generation is about 1.8 TWh, and the equivalent utilization hours are about 1,200 hours. The FPV power generation is about 1.8 times that of wind power generation. After integration, the offshore power generation density can reach 29.7 MW/km.
There are also many challenges in the integration of offshore FPV solutions and wind power. At present, there are no successful cases of simultaneous construction of offshore wind and solar facilities, and further research is needed on the operation and maintenance methods. In the planning stage, it is difficult to select a site that meets both the conditions for offshore wind and solar construction. The sea area with good wind resources is usually a great challenge for the anti-wind and wave design of floating structures.
The design of the offshore scenery and wind farm should also fully consider the dual operation and maintenance needs of the wind turbine and the FPV, leave enough maintenance access for the operation and maintenance factory ship, and consider preventing the collision between the floating structure of the FPV and the wind turbine foundation under extreme wind and wave conditions. The process of constructing FPV facilities at existing offshore wind farm sites may have an impact on the existing facilities.
The main cost of offshore FPV solutions lies in the design of the anti-wind and wave characteristics of the floating body. In the future, wind and solar co-field design can consider adding anti-wave embankment design to the wind turbine foundation, considering the protection facilities as a whole, reducing the cost of designing a single floating body structure, and improving the survival ability of FPV solutions.
The Integration with Marine Pasture
Modern marine ranching is a systematic project that integrates ecological, biological, and production management, achieving the proliferation of marine biological resources and sustainable and healthy development of fisheries through ecological environment restoration.
In recent years, China has increased its policy support for the construction of marine ranches. Shandong and Jiangsu have successively issued corresponding development plans to support the integration of offshore energy facilities and marine ranches. The combination of offshore energy and marine ranches has generated new industrial models, achieving multiple goals such as offshore power generation, underwater aquaculture, technological innovation, and industrial driving.
Building an intelligent monitoring platform at sea can balance fishery aquaculture management and FPV operation, improving the production and operation efficiency of fisheries and electricity. By monitoring meteorological and hydrological information such as weather and ocean currents, the ability of marine ranches and FPV solutions to cope with extreme natural disasters such as typhoons, tides, and high temperatures can be improved. At present, small-scale pilot projects combining offshore wind power, photovoltaics, and ocean farms have emerged successively in Shandong and other places in China.
The main problems with the integration design of ocean ranches and offshore FPV solutions are reflected in the following aspects.
Firstly, the government agencies responsible for managing energy and fishery projects are different, and the management approval process for the integration design needs to be improved.
The confirmation of marine three-dimensional rights and the collection of trial fees for sea areas are not yet clear.
Secondly, the integration of the two reduces the ecological impact of light on the marine system. Once again, the construction standards and regulatory methods used in the integrated design are not yet clear, including the nature and duration of the sea use.
Finally, it is necessary to consider the business model design and risk sharing methods of the integrated project.
The Integration with Seawater Desalination and Offshore Hydrogen Production
Many islands around the world are not connected to the main power grid due to their long distance and poor economic viability. The main mode of energy supply relies on diesel generators, which is neither environmentally friendly nor economical. Meanwhile, many islands rely on high energy consuming seawater desalination devices for their freshwater supply. FPV solutions and seawater desalination can provide resources for island economies from multiple dimensions.
At present, there are some coupling equipment for seawater desalination using photovoltaic module waste heat, photovoltaic photothermal coupling driven seawater desalination technology, etc. which can use solar energy to separate fresh water and brine through heating and condensation.
Due to the uncertainty of offshore wind and solar power generation, utilizing green electricity as an energy storage method for hydrogen and ammonia production has great potential for development. The produced hydrogen can directly provide power for ocean shipping and can also be integrated with offshore hydrogen refueling stations. The laboratory under the Spanish oil company Repsol is conducting a pilot project for offshore FPV hydrogen production. The project aims to design and construct an offshore hydrogen and ammonia production plant, which will convert floating wind turbines and FPV power generation into hydrogen energy on-site for powering ships and equipment in nearby ports.
The floating Photovoltaic solution is one of the key technologies for achieving carbon neutrality in coastal provinces of China. In the context of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" policy, solar and wind energy have become the most promising renewable resources.
China's coastal provinces have developed economies and high-energy consumption. To achieve carbon neutrality goals, it is necessary to produce and consume cleaner and low-carbon electricity. However, these areas have scarce land resources and cannot develop large-scale centralized photovoltaic and wind power projects. Meanwhile, relying on methods such as West East power transmission and onshore clean energy is difficult to meet the weight of renewable energy power consumption.
Therefore, shifting the goal of developing clean energy towards the ocean has become one of the important solutions and is also in line with the national energy development strategy.
The Integration of Floating PV Solutions
The integrated development of technologies such as floating PV solutions, offshore wind power, and ocean farms can share space and facilities, and shared energy will also promote the comprehensive development of marine resources and achieve the large-scale development of clean energy in the ocean.
The Integration with Offshore Wind Farms
In recent years, the combined generation of offshore wind and solar power has become an important research topic. The offshore wind power industry, facilities, and industrial chain have become relatively mature, and the development of offshore FPV solution is expected to achieve commercialization faster with the help of the energy system already established by offshore wind power.
The advantages of combining with offshore wind power projects are mainly reflected in increasing the output of clean electricity and improving the power generation per unit sea area. Shared access to power system equipment, shared equipment infrastructure, and reduced project costs. Smooth the output fluctuation of a single green power source, and wind and photovoltaic power can achieve high complementarity, achieving stable and continuous power supply. In terms of operation and maintenance, human and equipment resources can be shared, while offshore equipment can suppress the waves of wind farms to some extent.
European scholars have explored the potential of offshore wind power and FPV co-construction by establishing models. The results showed that after the joint construction of FPV solution and offshore wind power, the installed capacity and power generation per unit sea area increased by 10 times and 7 times, respectively, and the power output was smoother, with a 68% reduction in power fluctuation. This calculation is based on a simple model, and the integrated offshore power generation density can reach 57.5 MW/km.
However, this model did not fully consider the operation and maintenance space requirements of the integrated landscape. Taking an offshore wind farm in Guangdong as an example, FPV facilities are arranged in the wind turbine room area. The offshore wind power project covers an area of approximately 64 km2, with a total of 72 wind turbines installed and a total installed capacity of 400 MW.
A 220 kV offshore rising voltage station has been constructed in the wind farm area, connected to the onshore power system through a 220 kV submarine cable. The offshore wind solar integration design is shown.
The spacing between each fan arrangement is about 600 meters, and the spacing between each row of fans is about 1,500 meters.
Considering the operation, maintenance, and safety distance requirements of offshore wind turbines, a 400m channel is set between the FPV module and the wind turbine, and a 300m channel is set between the FPV modules. The entire wind farm can utilize an area of approximately 16.60 km2 for FPV construction. After considering factors such as anchoring systems, mooring systems, and floating space, the final FPV capacity can be approximately 1.5 GW. The first year's power generation is about 1.8 TWh, and the equivalent utilization hours are about 1,200 hours. The FPV power generation is about 1.8 times that of wind power generation. After integration, the offshore power generation density can reach 29.7 MW/km.
There are also many challenges in the integration of offshore FPV solutions and wind power. At present, there are no successful cases of simultaneous construction of offshore wind and solar facilities, and further research is needed on the operation and maintenance methods. In the planning stage, it is difficult to select a site that meets both the conditions for offshore wind and solar construction. The sea area with good wind resources is usually a great challenge for the anti-wind and wave design of floating structures.
The design of the offshore scenery and wind farm should also fully consider the dual operation and maintenance needs of the wind turbine and the FPV, leave enough maintenance access for the operation and maintenance factory ship, and consider preventing the collision between the floating structure of the FPV and the wind turbine foundation under extreme wind and wave conditions. The process of constructing FPV facilities at existing offshore wind farm sites may have an impact on the existing facilities.
The main cost of offshore FPV solutions lies in the design of the anti-wind and wave characteristics of the floating body. In the future, wind and solar co-field design can consider adding anti-wave embankment design to the wind turbine foundation, considering the protection facilities as a whole, reducing the cost of designing a single floating body structure, and improving the survival ability of FPV solutions.
The Integration with Marine Pasture
Modern marine ranching is a systematic project that integrates ecological, biological, and production management, achieving the proliferation of marine biological resources and sustainable and healthy development of fisheries through ecological environment restoration.
In recent years, China has increased its policy support for the construction of marine ranches. Shandong and Jiangsu have successively issued corresponding development plans to support the integration of offshore energy facilities and marine ranches. The combination of offshore energy and marine ranches has generated new industrial models, achieving multiple goals such as offshore power generation, underwater aquaculture, technological innovation, and industrial driving.
Building an intelligent monitoring platform at sea can balance fishery aquaculture management and FPV operation, improving the production and operation efficiency of fisheries and electricity. By monitoring meteorological and hydrological information such as weather and ocean currents, the ability of marine ranches and FPV solutions to cope with extreme natural disasters such as typhoons, tides, and high temperatures can be improved. At present, small-scale pilot projects combining offshore wind power, photovoltaics, and ocean farms have emerged successively in Shandong and other places in China.
The main problems with the integration design of ocean ranches and offshore FPV solutions are reflected in the following aspects.
Firstly, the government agencies responsible for managing energy and fishery projects are different, and the management approval process for the integration design needs to be improved.
The confirmation of marine three-dimensional rights and the collection of trial fees for sea areas are not yet clear.
Secondly, the integration of the two reduces the ecological impact of light on the marine system. Once again, the construction standards and regulatory methods used in the integrated design are not yet clear, including the nature and duration of the sea use.
Finally, it is necessary to consider the business model design and risk sharing methods of the integrated project.
The Integration with Seawater Desalination and Offshore Hydrogen Production
Many islands around the world are not connected to the main power grid due to their long distance and poor economic viability. The main mode of energy supply relies on diesel generators, which is neither environmentally friendly nor economical. Meanwhile, many islands rely on high energy consuming seawater desalination devices for their freshwater supply. FPV solutions and seawater desalination can provide resources for island economies from multiple dimensions.
At present, there are some coupling equipment for seawater desalination using photovoltaic module waste heat, photovoltaic photothermal coupling driven seawater desalination technology, etc. which can use solar energy to separate fresh water and brine through heating and condensation.
Due to the uncertainty of offshore wind and solar power generation, utilizing green electricity as an energy storage method for hydrogen and ammonia production has great potential for development. The produced hydrogen can directly provide power for ocean shipping and can also be integrated with offshore hydrogen refueling stations. The laboratory under the Spanish oil company Repsol is conducting a pilot project for offshore FPV hydrogen production. The project aims to design and construct an offshore hydrogen and ammonia production plant, which will convert floating wind turbines and FPV power generation into hydrogen energy on-site for powering ships and equipment in nearby ports.
