GMC-ElecEng 2020
Floating PV Solar-Powered Systems: design applied to an
irrigators community in the Valencia Region – Spain
Carlos Vargas-Salgado Irene Mansó Borràs
Departamento de Universitat Politènica de
Ingeniería Eléctrica València
Universitat Politènica de Valencia, Spain
València irmanbor@etsii.upv.es
Valencia, Spain
carvarsa@upvnet.upv.es
Abstract
In the present paper, it is carried out the design
of a photovoltaic installation connected to the
utility grid with panels mounted on a floating
structure at an irrigator’s community. The
objective is to determine the technical and
economic feasibility of a floating photovoltaic
installation to partially or totally cover the
energy demand.
The floating photovoltaic technology modality
provides better production yields in
photovoltaic panels since they are kept in
natural refrigeration and at lower temperatures
than if they were mounted on a roof. Its use for
irrigation facilities is attractive if an irrigator
pool nearby is available. However, the cost of
installing floating structures is considerably
higher compared to a similar photovoltaic
installation on a roof. For the design of the
proposed system, 272 PV panels with a 108 kW
peak installed and a 100 kW inverter are used.
The electrical calculations are also carried out
to size all the installation wiring and
incorporate the corresponding protections to
guarantee a safe operation. The total cost of the
photovoltaic installation is 119,100 €. The
photovoltaic generation is 188 MWh/year,
covering 13.6% of the energy demand.
Keywords
Photovoltaic system, floating, renewable
energy, self-consumption, compensation.
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Manuel Alcazar-Ortega Lina Montuori
Departamento de Departamento de
Ingeniería Eléctrica Termodinámica Aplicada
Universitat Politènica de Universitat Politècnica de
València València
Valencia, Spain Valencia, Spain
malcazar@iie.upv.es lmontuori@upvnet.upv.es
Introduction
The floating PV (FPV) is a technology which
has been spreading, mainly from 2015, from
them which the growth has been almost
exponential. The main countries with this type
of facilities are mainly Asian in origins, such as
China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea,
investment in the United States, France and the
Netherlands is also growing. This technology
has increased in the renewable energy market
since 2016. In December 2018, it reached 1.3
GW of installed power. [1] [2]
Floating PV plant provides benefits such as a)
water helps to keep panels at low temperatures,
b) the problem of shading is not present in the
case of an FPV plant, c) there is a reduction in
the growth of algae on water, d) no fixed
structure is presented in the case of an FPV
plant (installation can be reversible) [1] e)
evaporation of water is reduced by 80 % as it is
covered by floating platforms [3].
Several papers assess Floating PV system [4]
[5] [6]. The installation of large-scale PV
systems has substantial requirements on land
usage; approximately 1.6 ha of land per each
MW installed [7]. Also since land resources are
scarce their acquisition cost is higher,
impacting the economic viability of projects
negatively. In this context, FPV emerges as a
solution to mitigate the challenges due to lack
of space, as it will use idle areas, avoiding
conflicts, for example, with agricultural use [8].

In this paper, Homer and SAM are used to
estimate the energy production and to carry out
economic analysis. However other tools can be
used. Recent studies show models and methods
for PV systems in which are evidenced more
accurate results for simulation models; by
considering environmental weather conditions,
PV system architecture, interactions of PV
components with the weather conditions,
manufacturing quality, materials used and
combinations with other sources such a wind
systems. [9] [10] [11]
In this paper, the results of the design of an FPV
system are presented. The structure of the
manuscript is composed of the methodology,
energy demand, solar resource, devices used,
calculations, scheme of the system and results.
I. Methodology
The methodology followed to design the PV
system is based on Figure 1. PV system is sized,
considering the energy demand, the losses due
to energy conversion and the available solar
resource. Then, the inverter is sized, obtaining,
therefore, the final design of the system.
Losses due to energy
conversion and other losses  usually to water six days a week; meanwhile, in
Energy PV Inverter
demand system sizing
sizing
Equivalent sun hours (ESH),
Orientation and Tilt
Figure 1: Methodology to carry out the design.
II. Description of the installation
The Cooperative of Irrigators, located in the
Valencia Region, supplies 717 hectares of
fields dedicated to the cultivation of citrus and
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GMC-ElecEng 2020
vegetables. At its head station is the pumping
system that distributes the water resource to the
required areas. The water is stored in a reservoir
of 16,640 m3 and it is derived to the fields
through 3 pumps in parallel, whose operation is
governed by a control system that guarantees
the necessary irrigation in all sectors.
Irrigation Shifts
The irrigation is divided into two blocks. The
main and largest one serves to citrus fields
primarily, and the other one to the block of
vegetable fields. The citrus field block is
divided into four sub-groups, alternating
depending on the schedule. Hence, the system
is configured in such a way that each field is
irrigated 2 hours per day. On a regular day of
watering, the pumping station is continuously
working for 8 hours. The secondary block is
supplied during 3-4 hours in the afternoon.
III. Energy demand
The energy demand of the system responds to
the irrigation schedule mentioned before. The
frequency of these irrigations depends on the
season of the year. During summer months it is
winter the tendency is between 2-3 days a week.
Final The electricity rate contracted with the marketer
design company is the 6.1A (high voltage, six periods).
250
200
150
kW
100
50
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
TIME
Figure 2: Daily average profile consumption.
The conditions of this type of rate are
determined by the Spanish regulation (Royal
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 GMC-ElecEng 2020

Decree 1164/2001), which establishes tariffs IV. Solar resource

for access to transmission and distribution grid.
Figure 2 shows the average daily profile for Using the PVGIS database, hourly irradiance
August 2019. The consumption that will serve could be obtained for the location of the
as the basis for the present paper is showed in installation. In Figure 4 is shown the daily
Table I. irradiance expected in the location of the
facility, with panel inclination of 5º. [12]
TABLE I. MONTHLY ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Energy consumption MWh As it is shown in Figure 3, consumption is
January 16.70 higher during summer months reaching on
February 18.68
March 26.48 average 200 kW at dawn and early in the
April 22.28 morning. Irradiance values are also higher in
May 38.83
June 51.42
this season as show Figure 4, favouring the
July 60.73 energy production in summer.
August 61.78
September 31.36
October 37.26
November 31.71
December 13.81

New profile consumption

The system was designed to cover afternoon
consumption (Fig. 2). To take more profit of FV
production, the irrigation schedule that was
held during the afternoon will be switched
earlier, during daily hours when irradiation is
higher.
Figure 4: Monthly average solar irradiance.
Figure 3 shows the average daily consumption
of the system distinguishing in winter and
summer, with the afternoon consumption V. Devices
switched to earlier hours.
Floating system

The floating system chosen is composed of a

floating structure with a fixed inclination angle
of 5º. These floats are modular, and each one
holds a panel. The maintenance platforms are
strategically placed with corridors of
maintenance. Floats are made of HDPE (High-
Density Polyethylene) and can hold PV panels
with the following range of dimensions: 1650-
2120 mm length, 980-1060 mm width. [13]
Figure 3. Average daily consumption.

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 GMC-ElecEng 2020

PV panels VI. Calculations

The chosen photovoltaic panel is the model Number of panels
AURORA SPLIT CELL – Monocrystalline
PERC SR-M672400HL [14]. This type of panel The rated power of the PV system is 100 kW.
uses the Half-Cut Cell technology, which To cover the required power, using 400 W
consists of using photovoltaic cells shorter than photovoltaic panels, 250 panels are required
conventional, connected internally in two series according to equation 1.
of strings. This allows to reduce the losses in
the case of shadows, and the production of the 𝑁 (1)
panel is not cancelled. The technical
characteristics of the panel are shown in Table
The number of estimated PV panels is the first
III.
iteration. It must be verified and recalculated.
TABLE III: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PANEL The final number of panels depends on the
inverter technical characteristics, losses due to
MODEL SR-M672400HL
Peak power (Ppeak) 400 W temperature and its efficiency.
Open circuit voltage (Voc) 49.89 V
Short circuit current (Isc) 10.27 A To achieve the proper size of the PV system, the
Max. power point volt. (Vmpp) 41.73V
Max. power point current (Impp) 9.59A principal values of the panels (Voc, Isc, Pmax)
Efficiency 19.89% must be recalculated, considering the
Dimension (mm) 2008 x 1002 x 40
Weight 22.4 kg temperature factor.
Coeff. of temp Pmax (%) ºC -0.387 %
Coeff. of temp Voc (%) ºC -0.282 % The minimum and maximum temperature of
Coeff. of temp Isc (%) ºC +0.041 %
NOCT 45±2 ºC the panel are calculated according to equation
(2) and (3).
Grid-tied inverter ,
𝑇𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 𝐺 (2)
The chosen inverter is the INGECON SUN ,
100TL [15]. In Table IV are gathered the main 𝑇𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 𝐺 (3)
specifications of the inverter.
Now it is possible to calculate Voc, Isc and Pmax
considering the temperature effect.
TABLE IV: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INVERTER
MODEL INGECON SUN 100TL
The open-circuit voltage (Voc), the short circuit
Rated power DC 101.2 – 145 kW current (Isc) and the peak power are estimated
Imax 240 A
Isc 185 A
according to equation (4), (5) and (6),
Vmax DC 1100 V
Voltage Range MPPT 570 - 850 V 𝑉 𝑉 _ ∙ 1 𝛽𝑉 ∙ 𝑇 _ –𝑇 (4)
Efficiency 98.9 %
Nº of MPPT 1 𝐼 𝐼 ∙ 1 𝛽𝐼 ∙ 𝑇 –𝑇 (5)
Rated power AC 100 kW _ _
Output 50/60 Hz, 400Vac
𝑃 𝑃 ∙ 1 𝛽𝑃 ∙ 𝑇 _ –𝑇 (6)

Finally, the values calculated by correcting the

temperature effect are shown in Table V.

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 GMC-ElecEng 2020

TABLE V: CORRECTED VALUES OF THE PANELS VII. Scheme of the PV system

VOC_max 48.18 V
Isc_max 10.48 A Figure 5 shows the distribution of the floating
PMPP_max 381.04 W system in the irrigation pool and Figure 6 shows
the scheme of the integration of the PV system
into the cooperative internal grid.
PV panels configuration
For a proper array design, it is necessary to
consider the technical specifications of the
inverter and the PV panels. The configuration
of the panels must guarantee the correct ranges
of inverter working. Considering the technical
characteristics of the inverter (Table IV), and
the values calculated in Table V, it is possible
to calculate the configuration of the PV system,
determining the number of panels in series per
string and the number of strings in parallel.

Considering the voltages (Voc and Vmpp), the

maximum quantity of PV panels is estimated,
choosing the maximum value obtained from
equations (7) and (8).
Figure 5. FPV panels distribution on the irrigation
_ pool.
𝑁 _ _ (7)
_
_
𝑁 _ _ (8)
_

Analogously, considering the currents (Isc and

Impp) of the panel, the maximum number of
strings per inverter is estimated choosing the
maximum value obtained from equations (9)
and (10)
_ _
𝑁 _ _ (9)
_
_ _
𝑁 _ _ (10)
_

Finally, according to calculations and arranging

the strings with the same number of panels, the
final configuration is shown in Table VI.

TABLE VI: FINAL PV SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

Panels per string 17
Strings 16
Number of panels 272
Figure 6: Integration of the PV system into the
cooperative grid.

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 GMC-ElecEng 2020

VIII. Results Figure 9 shows the average daily consumption

covered by the floating photovoltaic system
Through the software HOMER, it is concluded designed.
that the best option is a peak power installed of
108 kW (Fig. 7). The photovoltaic field has 272
panels installed and a 100 kW grid-tied inverter.
NPC refers to the Net Present Cost and COE to
the Cost of Energy.

Figure 9: Average daily consumption covered

by the floating photovoltaic system designed.
Figure 7: Results using the software Homer. [16]
The comparison of the energy consumption
from the utility grid (with and without the PV
PV production system) is shown in Table VII. The floating PV
system would cover around 13.55% of the total
The system was finally designed to cover the energy demand.
afternoon consumption, which will now take
place during the time of photovoltaic TABLE VII: UTILITY GRID CONSUMPTION
COMPARISON WITH AND WITHOUT THE PV SYSTEMS
production. Figure 8 shows the estimated
monthly energy production in the floating Without (kWh) With PV (kWh) % Saving
photovoltaic system designed, using the Jan 16,706 14,107 15.56%
software SAM (System Advisor Model). Feb 18,669 15,310 17.99%
Mar 26,472 22,262 15.90%
Apr 22,273 18,288 17.89%
May 38,821 33,097 14.74%
Jun 51,307 45,881 10.58%
Jul 60,360 55,219 8.52%
Aug 61,762 54,194 12.25%
Sep 31,342 25,414 18.91%
Oct 37,465 32,457 13.37%
Nov 31,374 27,814 11.35%
Des 14,440 11,239 22.17%
Anual 410,990 355,283 13.55%

Financial and viability results

The cost of the components is 72,757 € (Fig.
10), and the total cost of the system, including
labour cost, contractual benefits, and VAT is
119,100 €.
Figure 8: Monthly FPV production.

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Figure 10: Cost of the components.
The economic savings would be possible thanks
to the reduction of energy consumption from
the utility grid. But also due to the savings that
would be generated thanks to the regulation
established in the RD 244/2019. This regulation
forces the marketer company to compensate
economically the custom, due to the excess of
energy injected to the utility grid.
In this project, the annual saving would be
around 7,800 €. It is also considered a yearly
saving of 353 € due to the savings by avoiding
80% of the evaporation of the water surface
covered by the floating structure [3].
Additionally, according to the Valencian
regulation (DOGV 25/5/2020), a bonus of
8,573 € will be obtained at year 10. The annual
maintenance cost has been estimated in 1,200 €.
The replacement of the inverter between the 15-
20 years is also considered.
The annual inflation is estimated at 1%. It is
obtained an Internal Rate of Return of 4%
annually for 25 years from equation (Equation
11), where NPC is the Net Present Cost and C0
is the initial cost of the FPV system.  
𝑁𝑃𝐶 𝐶 ∑
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GMC-ElecEng 2020
The payback period is 15 years (Equation 12).
The total profit at the end of the life of the
installation would be 71,328 €.
€
𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 € (12)
IX. Conclusions
According to the initial aim of the feasibility
study of the photovoltaic installation with
floating panels, it has been determined that it is
technically viable to install a photovoltaic plant
on the irrigation pool at the Cooperative under
study. It is concluded that the final design of the
photovoltaic system has 272 panels (108 kW),
and one inverter of 100 kW.
Regarding the economic profitability, the
payback period is 15 years, generating a profit
of 71,327 € at year 25. This payback is not on
the average for PV systems in Spain, as it is
usually expected to obtain a return at 7-10
years. However, the extra cost due to the
floating structure has increased the final budget.
Following the aim of energy saving, there is a
reduction of the grid consumption of 55,707
kWh/year, equivalent to 13.55% of the total
consumption. The saving could be improved if
the demand were redistributed to the
photovoltaic production times by increasing
this energy-saving consumed from the utility
grid.
0 (11)
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 GMC-ElecEng 2020

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