Cooling Effect on the Floating Solar PV: Performance and Economic Analysis on the Case of West Java Province in Indonesia

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic technology is one of the most well established new and renewable energy technologies. Many researchers have undertaken wide research and development in this sector, including material and system design. To protect the exhaustion of global terrestrial land and to avoid the occupation of extensive farmlands, solar photovoltaic (PV) developers, as well as policymakers, have pursued various solutions, including the development of floating solar PV (FPV). This study consists of a technological and economic perspective to analyze the floating solar PV system. The authors utilize remote sensing results to predict FPV efficiency and measure energy yield from the system while also developing an economics analysis on an FPV project by comparison with ground-based solar PV (GPV). The results from the remote sensing method found that the lake has a cooler temperature than the ground, with an annual difference of around 8 °C. FPV efficiency was also shown to be around 0.61% higher than GPV in terms of the prediction. FPV economic parameter comparison also resulted in 3.37 cents/kWh lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and 6.08% higher internal rate of return (IRR) compared to GPV in the base scenario.