Marine Applications of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Systems – MARSOL

Renewable energy sources promise a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Floating photovoltaics (FPVs) supports the alternative as their total energy production doubles yearly. Many FPVs operate in water areas such as lakes, ponds and reservoirs. However, the deployment of FPVs in the marine environment is limited due to the harsh environmental conditions.

In 2021, Det Norske Veritas released the world’s first Recommended Practice (RP) for FPV projects at maritime locations close to the coast that are somewhat protected. Based on discrepancies between RP and the current state of the art, the knowledge gaps are identified and set as the research objectives of MARSOL project.

The total environmental loads on FPVs at sea consist of the wave, sea current and wind loads. Each load and response will be studied in MARSOL project. Wave loads and motions will be experimentally investigated in a towing tank with a scaled model with an associated mooring system. Numerically, combining a potential flow solver and a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. The sea current loads will also be observed by a RANS solver and experiments in a towing tank. The wind loads and their relation to the airflow turbulence will be studied using the numerical approaches from existing recommendations.

The mooring system is critical for FPVs at sea since it plays an integral part in the structural integrity of the whole system. A coupled model will be built up capable of considering a large number of floating bodies that experiments in a towing tank will validate.

When estimating energy yield, a particularity of FPVs instaled at sea is in the mismatch losses caused by the wave-induced motions. The energy yield numerical model will be developed considering these losses and the string configuration of photovoltaic (PV) modules,.

In conclusion, MARSOL project will improve the existing methodology or develop new ones necessary for the safe design of FPVs deployed in the marine environment.