Floating PV; an assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions

Abstract

Abstract This work addresses the potential impact on water quality and quantifies the benefit of the low carbon power source of floating solar panels in evaporation reduction when using them on an open water body, such as an agricultural irrigation pond in semi-arid regions. By utilizing agricultural ponds for low carbon energy conversion, and saving precious water through evaporation reduction, the highly vulnerable agricultural sector will be empowered. A pilot size setup is prepared, key water quality parameters were monitored and evaporation quantities in a PV-covered pond are compared to those from an adjacent open water pond used as a control. Several inclination angles for the panels were tested. Results showed no adverse impact on the water quality; on the contrary, there is evidence of improvement particularly in nitrate and chlorophyll concentrations. Moreover, a reduction of ~60% in evaporation was observed; power generation from the floating panels, on the other hand, was statistically similar to that from ground-mounted panels.