Studies on Installation of Floating Photovoltaic Systems in Water Reservoirs of Several Hydropower Plants in Greece

Authors

  • John Vourdoubas Consultant Engineer, 107B El. Venizelou str., 73132, Chania, Crete, Greece

Keywords:

capacity factor, floating photovoltaics, Greece, hydropower plants, power, reservoir, water surface

Abstract

Use of solar photovoltaics for electricity generation is growing rapidly in Greece replacing the use of fossil fuels in energy generation. The possibility of installing floating photovoltaic systems in water reservoirs in ten hydropower plants in Greece has been studied. Installations of floating photovoltaics in water reservoirs in Greece have not been reported while published studies regarding their applications in the country are limited so far. It has been found that the integration of floating photovoltaic systems with hydropower plants in Greece increases, by average, their initial capacity factor by 42.32%. It has been also estimated that, in the ten hydropower plants studied, by covering 9.39% of the water dams’ surface with floating photovoltaics the installed hydropower capacity is doubled while by covering 12.22% of their surface with floating photovoltaics the annual solar electricity generation is equal to the hydroelectricity generation. The additional hydroelectricity generation due to installation of floating photovoltaics in two hydropower plants varies in the range of 0.035% to 0.43% of the initial hydroelectricity generation. Our results indicate that floating photovoltaic systems can be integrated with hydropower plants in Greece generating significant amounts of solar electricity consisting of a complementary alternative technology to terrestrial photovoltaics which are mainly used to day. The results are useful to policy makers who are willing to increase the contribution of solar energy in energy generation, to investors in sustainable energy technologies and to the owners of hydropower plants in Greece who can increase the electricity generation and their energy efficiency integrating them with floating photovoltaic systems.

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Published

2023-03-26

How to Cite

John Vourdoubas. (2023). Studies on Installation of Floating Photovoltaic Systems in Water Reservoirs of Several Hydropower Plants in Greece. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 92(1), 108–123. Retrieved from https://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/8741

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