Planta fotovoltaica flotante

Abstract

El objetivo de este proyecto era proponer un diseño de una planta fotovoltaica flotante no solo funcional, sino también económicamente rentable en un país con unas condiciones climáticas adversas para la energía solar como es Finlandia. En esta memoria se pueden encontrar los principales hallazgos en múltiples campos como localización, tipos de paneles, diseño de la estructura flotante o técnicas para mejorar el rendimiento de los paneles. A continuación se presenta un diseño final al que se ha llegado mediante un proceso iterativo en el que se descartan las opciones que presentan mayores complicaciones o son sencillamente inviables. En la parte final, se exponen un estudio económico y un estudio medioambiental que concluyen que el diseño es viable en ambos aspectos. Por tanto, la energía fotovoltaica instalada en la superficie de lagos puede ser de ayuda en la transición a un modelo energético limpio y renovable en Finlandia

This Final Report is the culmination of a four month long design study on floating solar panel park feasibility in Vaasa, Finland. The Floating Ideas Team was tasked with coming up with a design that would not only work, but also make a profit. The team focused a lot of time on initial research, an iterative design process, and experiments to gather information that could not be found during the research phase. In this report, one can expect to find the major findings from research in many different areas such as location, panel design, flotation design, cooling techniques, and efficiency adding techniques. The first takeaway is that implementing floating solar parks in Finland would require adding efficiency techniques such as mirrors or concentrators. Second, how the panels are placed means a lot in a location so far north. Placing the panels far away from each other and horizontally will reduce the negative impact of shadows. And third, the rotation of the structure is important in increasing efficiency. Multiple axis tracking is not necessary, but tracking in the vertical axis can add a 50% increase in power generated. This research then lead into the defining of four initial designs which were eventually paired down into one. The largest factors leading to the change in design were the combination of rotation and anchoring methods, the flotation structure, and the structure required hold the panel modules together. In the end, the final design is a modular circular design with panels and mirrors to help add efficiency, approximately 37%. From there, an economic and environmental feasibility study was done and for both, this design was deemed feasible for Finland. With the design, detailed in this report, it would be possible to implement this and make a profit off of it, leading the team to believe that this should be implemented in places looking for alternatives for renewable energy production.