Floating solar and hydropower: A match made in renewable energy heaven
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Floating solar and hydropower: A match made in renewable energy heaven

Floating solar plants can boost generating capacity of hydroelectric facilities and keep power flowing when water levels are low.

Thousands of miles and an ocean apart, two projects are demonstrating how floating solar power plants and hydropower facilities are a match made in renewable energy heaven.

The EDF Group has opened the Lazer floating solar power plant, the first facility of its type to be constructed in France by subsidiary EDF Renewables. Installed on the reservoir at the 16.5 MW Lazer hydropower plant, the new facility doubles the site’s capacity for renewable electricity generation.

The Lazer floating solar power plant comprises over 50,000 solar panels, with a total installed capacity of 20 MWp (megawatts peak). The facility will help France meet its target of 100 GW of solar energy capacity by 2050, EDF said.

The solar power plant complements the hydropower scheme, particularly in the summer months, by continuing to supply electricity when the water from Lazer Reservoir is used primarily for crop irrigation. The facility’s anchor and float systems allow it to adapt to variations in the reservoir water level, with no impact on its operation.

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Launched in 2017, the project was selected as a winning candidate in the call for proposals by the French Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission de la Régulation de l’Energie) in 2018. A participatory financing campaign was launched in 2021, allowing the local population to invest €179,000 (US$227,500). Construction of the solar power plant began in 2021, with the performance of geotechnical studies and placement of the anchors. The photovoltaic panels were assembled on their floats, launched onto the water in groups (known as islets), and towed by boat to their location. The floating solar power plant has a scheduled operating lifetime of around 30 years.

“We are proud to open the Lazer floating solar power plant. The new facility provides a perfect illustration of the complementary nature of the EDF Group’s expertise and our capacity for innovation. To achieve this first for France, EDF Renewables drew on the expertise it has developed at international level, with four floating solar power plants already constructed in Israel and the U.S. By combining two sources of renewable electricity generation at a single site, this project will help France meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050,” said Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group senior executive vice president, renewable energies.

The new plant boosts EDF Renewables’ presence in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region, where five new solar power plants, including Lazer, will enter service in 2023, the company said. The new plants will join five facilities already in operation, increasing EDF Renewables’ solar generation capacity in the region to a total of 85 MW.

Mitigating water level fluctuation

Courtesy: Noria Energy

Unrelated to EDF’s efforts in France, a 1.5 MW solar power system floating on the reservoir at Colombia’s Urrá Dam will demonstrate that hydroelectric projects dealing with fluctuating water levels can pair with floating solar generation to boost energy reliability and increase production.

Noria Energy conceived and led development of the Aquasol solar project, which is the largest of its kind in South America, according to a release.

Aquasol is installed at the 340 MW Urrá hydropower plant in the Sinú River basin in Córdoba. Aquasol consists of over 2,800 solar modules and is expected to produce nearly 2,400 MWh of power in its first year, enough to offset the amount of energy it takes to operate the dam. Aquasol also is expected to avoid more than 1,540 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year and generate over $1.2 million in additional electric power revenue over 20 years.

In addition to boosting total generating capacity of hydroelectric facilities, floating solar systems can help keep power flowing when low water levels or other adverse conditions reduce hydroelectric output. The floating solar system is designed to withstand water-level fluctuations of up to 120 feet. Siting solar facilities on water also avoids land-use conflicts, and pairing them with hydro plants takes advantage of existing interconnection and other energy infrastructure.

“Worldwide, around 60% of renewable energy comes from hydropower. That represents countless opportunities to deploy floating solar that can maximize zero-emission energy generation and diversify clean energy sources,” said Noria Energy Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Wank.

Noria Energy — along with partners 1Solution, DISICO S.A, G&C, Isigenere, and Seaflex —  designed, developed and installed the floating photovoltaic system as a pilot project for independent power producer URRÁ S.A. E.S.P.

“URRÁ seeks to incorporate innovation and sustainable development in all its operations. We are very proud that Aquasol is the largest floating photovoltaic plant built at a reservoir of a hydroelectric power plant in South America to date,” said Rafael Amaya del Vecchio, president of URRÁ S. A. E.S.P. “URRÁ thanks Noria for leading the design of the photovoltaic system and the other companies of the Aquasol consortium for helping us make this project a reality.”

As part of the pilot project, Noria Energy will assist in comparing Aquasol’s production and efficiency to that of a ground-mounted solar system installed on the shore. Additionally, Noria will use the data from Aquasol to design and model larger-scale systems to maximize the generation potential of floating solar and hydroelectric reservoirs.

Originally published by Hydro Review