CHAPTER 2.

Marine Renewable
Energies

Tecnologías del Medio Ambiente y Sostenibilidad II

Grado en Ingeniería Mecánica
1.1 Introduction
 3
INTRODUCTION. State-of-the-art

Source: REE

Electricity cost (€/MWh)

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (en-may)
Canary Islands 140.7 170.8 205.8 223.5 223.9 221
Spain 42.9 45.8 60.2 59.6 57.7 45.7

Electricity cost in the Canary Islands: 4 times more expensive than in Spain (mainland)

The exploitation of our renewable resources is necessary!

 4
INTRODUCTION. State-of-the-art

Canary Islands:
Electrical islands

7 islands = 6 independent electrical systems

Limited territory, surrounded by water

 5
INTRODUCTION. State-of-the-art

Electricity sector forecasts

Decarbonization of all sectors by

2040 in the Canary Islands:
Large increase in
- Electricity sector electricity demand
- Transportation
- Heat

Doubling of current
Need to find other renewable demand
alternatives

Terrestrial geographical
limitation

Surrounded by coast
 6
INTRODUCTION. State-of-the-art
Unfulfilled goals
PECAN objectives, 2015:
‣ 30% electricity supply: renewables National Plan (offshore), 2020:
‣ Wind: 1025 MW ‣ Wind offsore: 750 MW
‣ Solar PV: 238 MW ‣ Waves: 100 MW
‣ Wave: 50 MW

Wind offshore

Ocean technologies
 7
INTRODUCTION. State-of-the-art
Wind offshore VS Ocean technologies
Any difference ?
1. Waves are a more concentrated and predictable resource

2. Different sizes can affect:

• Energy productions
• Installation management such as aeronautical easements
• Farm distances and settings
• Security buffers

Source: J. Fernandez Chozas et.al., “Combined Production of a full-scale Wave Converter and a full-scale Wind Turbine: a Real Case Study”, ICOE2012
 8
Ocean Techonologies
The origin of these renewable sources is once again solar energy, which feeds the winds and in
turn the currents and tides. The global potential for annual electrical energy production is
estimated at 120 000 TWh, although currently its exploitation is still limited and is under
development.

These energy sources that seas and oceans offer can be classified as follows:

Energy of currents: obtained from the use of the kinetic

energy of marine currents.

Energy of the salinity gradient: obtained by the difference in

the concentration of salts.

Ocean Oceanic thermal energy: obtained from the differences

Technologies between cold deep ocean waters and warm surface ones.

Tidal energy: obtained by taking advantage of the potential

energy that exists between the different heights of the tides.

Wave energy (wave power): from mechanical energy

generated by the movement of the waves.

Source: a) Rivas, L. R. (2012). El Aprovechamiento de las Energías Renovables Marinas como opción tecnológica de futuro. Economía industrial, (386), 99-108.
b)The Ocean Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Programme (OES)
1.1 Wave energy
 10
WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE

It is estimated that the total wave energy incident on the world's coasts on the
ocean surface is about 2.11 TW.

Source: a) Perez, J. (2018). Cuantificación del potencial energético undimotriz en las costas del Caribe colombiano. Revista ESPACIOS, 39(03).
b) Gunn, K & Stock-Williams C. (2012). Quantifying the global wave power resource, Renewable Energy, (44) 296-304.
 WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE 11

Sea waves, like any other wave, have these characteristic parameters, and among them, the most important will be the height and
period of the wave.
Data collection equipment

Main parameters:

H: height (difference in height between the ridge and the valley). It is measured in meters.
Satelite
a : amplitude (half of the height). It is measured in meters.
λ : wavelength (distance between 2 consecutive ridges). It is measured in meters. Pressure
ω : angular frequency, which is calculated ω= 2π/T. It is measured in rad/s. Transducer
T : wave period (time interval between the passage of two crests at a given point). It is
measured in seconds.

The wave characteristic (wave heights and periods) Wave rider Buoy
are obtained from the analysis of the surface
elevations data collected by an instrument.

Differences between wind wave and swell wave :

The wind creates small and disorderly waves that, as they advance
unhindered along the oceans, become uniform and increase in height
and period. These waves are called swell waves.....and have a greater
energy potential.
 12
WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE DATABASE

The different parameters can be obtained from Puertos del Estado's own tool and database.

LINK: https://www.puertos.es/es-es/oceanografia/Paginas/portus.aspx
 ESSENTIAL DEFINITIONS 13

TASK

What wave height and period do you think your favorite beach on the island has?

Choose the beach and search in Puertos del Estado tool for the real height.
 14
WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE
Canary Islands average annual potential
 15
WAVE ENERGY RESOURCE

The basic equation for the estimation of wave potential is as follows

Where:
ρ = density of seawater (1.025) [kg/m3].
𝜌𝜌 � 𝑔𝑔2 g = acceleration of gravity (9.81) [m/s2].
𝑃𝑃 = � 𝐻𝐻𝑠𝑠2 � 𝑇𝑇𝑒𝑒 Hs = significant wave height [m].
64 � 𝜋𝜋 Te = average period of the wave [s].

The standard unit of measurement is [W/m], where m represents the meter of wave front.

TASK
Calculate your beach's wave potential
 WAVE ENERGY 16
Technologies classification

A major difference in Wind offshore

operating principles

Wave Energy Converters

(WECs)

Fuente: European Marine Energy Centre LTD

http://www.emec.org.uk/marine-energy/wave-devices/
 WAVE ENERGY 17
Technologies classification

A) ATTENUATOR
An attenuator is a floating device which operates parallel to the wave direction
and effectively rides the waves. These devices capture energy from the relative
motion of the two arms as the wave passes them.

B) POINT ABSORBER
A point absorber is a floating structure which absorbs energy from all directions
through its movements at/near the water surface. It converts the motion of the
buoyant top relative to the base into electrical power. The power take-off
system may take a number of forms, depending on the configuration of
displacers/reactors.

C) OSCILLATING WAVE SURGE CONVERTER

Oscillating wave surge converters extract energy from wave surges and the
movement of water particles within them. The arm oscillates as a pendulum
mounted on a pivoted joint in response to the movement of water in the waves.

Fuente: European Marine Energy Centre LTD

http://www.emec.org.uk/marine-energy/wave-devices/
 WAVE ENERGY 18
Technologies classification

D) OSCILLATING WATER COLUMN

An oscillating water column is a partially submerged, hollow structure. It is open to the
sea below the water line, enclosing a column of air on top of a column of water. Waves
cause the water column to rise and fall, which in turn compresses and decompresses
the air column. This trapped air is allowed to flow to and from the atmosphere via a
turbine, which usually has the ability to rotate regardless of the direction of the airflow.
The rotation of the turbine is used to generate electricity.

E) OVERTOPPING/TERMINATOR DEVICE
Overtopping devices capture water as waves break into a storage reservoir. The water
is then returned to the sea passing through a conventional low-head turbine which
generates power. An overtopping device may use ‘collectors’ to concentrate the wave
energy.

Fuente: European Marine Energy Centre LTD

http://www.emec.org.uk/marine-energy/wave-devices/
 WAVE ENERGY 19
Technological Readiness Level
 WAVE ENERGY 20

Test areas
Canary Islands Ocean Platform (PLOCAN)
• Eastern part of the island
• Average annual swell resource: 5.6 kW /m
• Bathymetry of 600 meters
• Seabed substrate (94.2% sand)
• Submarine cable for testing
• Two nearby facilities (desalination plant and shopping center

Fuente: https://www.plocan.net/index.php/es/
 WAVE ENERGY 21

Canary historical
news
 WAVE ENERGY 22

Canary historical
news
 WAVE ENERGY 23

Energy production

Wind
Power curve

Wave
Power Matrix

When working with sea states that

are characterized by a given height
and period data, the calculation can
be matrix-based.
 WAVE ENERGY 24

What factors must be taken

into account?

Resource Geographical Technical

potential restrictions restrictions
 WAVE ENERGY 25

Geographical restrictions

LEGEND

Simplified map of the Canary archipelago

 WAVE ENERGY 26

Technical restrictions
Bathymetry

LEGEND

Jurisdictional waters
LEGEND
 WAVE ENERGY 27

Installable wave energy scenarios

1.2 WIND OFFSHORE ENERGY
 WIND OFFSHORE 29

WIND OFFSHORE
Offshore wind energy harnesses energy from the wind in the same way as onshore technology.
The two main differences lie in the size of the turbines, with offshore turbines being larger, the
materials used in foundations and support structures.

Offshore technology can be classified into two blocks, depending on the bathymetric range of operation,
being bottom-fixed and floating wind. In the 60 meter depth the separation is established.
 WIND OFFSHORE 30

Why are they larger in size?

In the sea there is a better wind resource.

• There are fewer obstacles and therefore fewer losses in terms of efficiency.
The number of equivalent hours at sea is at least 3500 hours, sometimes reaching 4000 - 5000
hours. On the other hand, onshore wind power reaches 2500 - 3000 hours.
 WIND OFFSHORE 31

Wind energy potential

LEGEND
Speed

Spring Summer

Autumn Winter
 WIND OFFSHORE 32

Why are they larger in size?

The wind energy sector is constantly advancing

over the years, both in terms of installed power,
performance, commissioning and materials.

Onshore wind turbines have an average installed capacity of

5 MW, reaching up to 8 MW, but offshore they already reach
12 MW, expandable to 14 MW and possibly up to 25 MW in
the future (company bluenewab&acciona). les

Siemens, Vestas and General Electric

currently have offshore turbines.

Source: Web page Siemens Gamesa

 WIND OFFSHORE 33
Why are they larger in size?
Offshore wind also relies on economy of scale and ease of transport by sea

Highlights of offshore wind turbines

Bigger  Cheaper  Greener

 WIND OFFSHORE 34

Current status
Installed capacity in Europe (MW), by country and year

Most of these offshore wind farms have fixed foundations, but many countries already have
floating offshore wind farms, such as the United Kingdom (30 MW), Portugal (25 MW) and
Norway (3.6 MW), or are developing them and will commission them in the next 3 years,
such as France (113.5 MW), Norway (88 MW) and the United Kingdom (48 MW).

Source: WindEurope
Source: Asociación eólica empresarial
 WIND OFFSHORE 35

Technological classification
Bottom-fixed main configurations

Jacket Monopile Gravity based

Other configurations and hybridizations between those

already developed are currently being studied.
 WIND OFFSHORE 36
Bottom-fixed General description:
The monopile is a cylindrical steel tube that pierces the seabed. Its installation
Monopile uses hydraulic hammers, sinking the pile at least twice the water depth. Its
diameter reaches 10 meters and its weight is 2,000 tons. In addition, a
transition piece is placed at the top of the monopile to fit the wind turbine
tower and level it.

Currently, this type of support structure is the most widely used in the
offshore market due to the ease of installation in shallow waters, being the
ideal depths for installation from 0 to 30 meters.

Advantages of monopiles
•Work well in sand and gravel soils.
•Have a simple design that installs quickly.
•Adaptable for shallow and deeper installations of various sizes.
•Cost-effective for installations to 40 m.
Disadvantages of monopoles
•Cost and risks associated with fabrication, installation and transport increase for larger
monopiles required at deeper installations where hydrodynamic loads are an issue.
•Installation noise can disorient, injure or kill marine life sensitive to pressure waves.
This includes humpback whales, loggerhead turtles and manatees.
•Wind, wave and seismic loading can negatively affect the foundation. This can cause
early fatigue damage to the structure if it is not accounted for during installation.

•Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Dbt6ZX_uY
•Vídeo 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcRqzT2uU6c
Source: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/comparing-offshore-wind-turbine-foundations/
 WIND OFFSHORE 37
Bottom-fixed
General description:
Gravity based Its stability is based on a large weight located at the bottom. This type of
foundation is mainly composed of a central axis of concrete or steel where
the axis of the wind turbine will fit, and some skirts that are ballasted to
anchor the base to the seabed. It is usually ballasted with sand, iron ore or
rock and the width of the base can be modified to suit the site conditions.
Careful consideration must be given to currents and waves as they can lead to
erosion of the materials. It is cost-effective up to 30 meters deep.

Advantages of GBFs
•Uses lower-cost materials like concrete and steel.
•Proven technology borrowed from oil and gas industries.
•Some designs do not need crane installation.
•Tugboats can move port-assembled floated-to-fixed GBFs into place, reducing costs
and risk.

Disadvantages of GBFs
•Seabed preparation like dredging is typically required. This can disturb a significant
amount (up to 7%) of the wind farm’s site.
•A larger installed footprint may increase the turbine’s environmental impact.
•Invasive species introduction is possible when towing foundations from port to
site.

•Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tJHfkUbhvc
•Vídeo 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tJHfkUbhvc

Source: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/comparing-offshore-wind-turbine-foundations/
 WIND OFFSHORE 38
Bottom-fixed
General description:
Its structure is composed of a network of steel bars forming a lattice
Jacket which are anchored to the seabed by means of piles. Suitable depths for
this type of structure are from 20 to 50 meters, although in some projects
they are being considered for installation at depths of 60 to 70 meters.
The transition piece is the link between the foundation and the wind
turbine tower. The loads and stresses are transferred through the main
elements in the axial direction. The large base of the structure provides
high overturning resistance.

Advantages of jackets
•Can be installed using piles or suction caissons in stiff clays or medium-to-dense
sands. Soft-soil installations are possible with longer pile lengths that significantly
increase friction resistance.
•The larger surface area of the lattice configuration may provide an artificial reef
location, providing a new habitat for local species.
•Economical choice using straightforward manufacturing methods.
•Can be moved by barge.

Disadvantages of jackets
•May allow invasive species to establish and spread.
•North Sea installations of jacket foundations have reported ongoing grout joint
issues, causing long periods of maintenance downtime to sustain structural
Video 1. integrity.
https://www.youtube.com/wa •Changes to local water patterns may be detrimental to native marine ecosystems.
tch?v=ACcAJBzPSB0 •Installations using pile drivers can create underwater noise that may injure or kill
some marine life.

Source: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/comparing-offshore-wind-turbine-foundations/
 WIND OFFSHORE 39
Bottom-fixed

There have been other concepts

but the development is very
small:

The tripod consists of a central

shaft divided at the bottom into 3
piles that are inserted into the
seabed.

The suction caisson is put into

the water and is emptied of air or
water inside (a vacuum is
created) and it sinks and sticks
into the ground.
 WIND OFFSHORE 40
Technological classification
Floating wind main configurarions

Tension Leg Barge Semi-Submersible SPAR

Platform (TLP)
 WIND OFFSHORE 41
Floating wind
SPAR configuration
General description:

It consists of an elongated cylindrical tube that has a large float at the top
and is stabilized by large amounts of ballast at the bottom. This lowers the
center of gravity below the center of hull/floatability. The structure is fixed
to the bottom by means of mooring lines that hold it in place and help
stabilize it.

Advantages
•Its design is simple, easy to manufacture.
•It makes it possible to use cheaper materials such as concrete.
•It is not exposed to waves.
•It has excellent stability.

Disadvantages
•It has a large weight and a very deep draft that limits the available sites and forces
the use of expensive vessels for its transport.
•The large amount of submerged mass can suffer from the effects of biofouling or
corrosion.
 WIND OFFSHORE 42
Floating wind
Semi-Submersible configuration
General description:

This type of structure is stabilized due to its large floating surface. It has
several floats (usually 3 or 4) spaced far apart from the center of gravity
and rigidly attached to each other. In addition, it has a mooring system
that maintains the position and provides additional stability to the
platform.

Advantages
•It is characterized by its shallow draft, which makes it possible to assemble it
completely in port in order to reduce the cost of transport to the destination.
•It is versatile in terms of installation depth and seabed.
Disadvantages
•This type of support is quite expensive, as its manufacture is complex and the
amount of steel required is of great magnitude.
•It often requires active ballast systems that make the structure more expensive.
•It is more exposed to waves and inclement weather.

Source: https://www.oedigital.com/news/485487-floating-offshore-
wind-the-next-big-thing-for-asia-pacific
 WIND OFFSHORE 43
Floating wind
Barge configuration
General description:

It consists of a large floating surface with vessel-like shape. The

principle is the same as in the semi-submersible model, but it is
distinguished by having only one float that is part of the structure. It
requires a large amount of material.

This type of structure can present disadvantages in extreme sea

conditions, so it is necessary to study in detail the site conditions.
As a remarkable advantage, it can be completely assembled on land,
thus avoiding expensive transport vessels.
 WIND OFFSHORE 44
Floating wind
Tension Leg Platform (TLP) configuration
General description:

The wind turbine is fixed on a floating structure whose float is

completely submerged, exerting a large upward thrust force. This force
is counteracted by tendons attached to the platform and to the seabed
with a given pretension, which stabilize the platform.

Advantages
• Low structural mass and excellent stability,
• Low wave exposure.
•It can be fully assembled on land and transported to the destination, which reduces
costs.

Disadvantages
•Complex installation process and the need for expensive specific vessels in most cases.
•The durability and complications arising from the high loads of the anchoring system
make the structure more expensive.
•There are few concepts developed with this system.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818551-3.00015-6
 WIND OFFSHORE 45

Cable section

Source: https://i.redd.it/goevfqvxuq281.png

Source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2021.107128

Source: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/vbms-wins-cable-contract-700-mw-offshore-wind-connections/
Source: https://www.offshorewind.biz/2018/11/19/inch-cape-picks-nkt-and-boskalis-for-export-cable-work/
 WIND OFFSHORE 46

Technical and Geographical restrictions

LEGEND

These restrictions are

practically the same as those
studied in wave technology,
with the main difference that
wind farms cannot be installed
within 8 km of the coast and
that we must be more careful
with aeronautical easements.
Simplified map of the Canary archipelago
 WIND OFFSHORE 47

VESSELS SECTION

PREPARATION
DREDGE VESSEL

PREPARATION: ROCK
DUMPING VESSEL

INSTALLATION: BARGES

TURBINE INSTALLATION VESSEL:

Source: CoreMarine. SPEGC COURSE, 2021

 WIND OFFSHORE 48

Structure of an offshore wind farm

a) Wind turbines
b) Collector cables (up to 66 kV)
c) Exporting cables
d) Simple transformer substation in offshore wind farms.
e) Substation with converters (HVDC system). When the distance to the coast justifies it.
f) Meteorological station
g) Onshore substation

Source: Energies 2016, 9, 216; doi:10.3390/en9030216

Fixed foundation: Projects with LCOE close to 50 €/MWh

Floating foundation: Projects with LCOE close to 80 €/MWh by 2030*
Approximate costs
*Projects still pre-comercial. Technological challenges to be solved, not only
related to foundations,but also with the dynamic power cable and mooring
lines, among others.
 WIND OFFSHORE 49

Overview of grid-connected offshore wind power

projects at the end of june 2022

Source:Wind Europe

Bottom-fixed VS floating wind evolution
Installed in 2021
Moray East (950 MW): Jacket
TritonKnoll (857 MW): Monopile
HornseaTwo(462 MW): Monopile
Kincardine(48 MW): Semi-Sub
KriegersFlak(605 MW): Monopile
Fryslan(383 MW): Monopile
Borssele3&4 (9 MW): Monopile
Source:Wind Europe
Installed in 2021 and under
construction, only 0.86% of installed
offshore wind power is floating
WIND OFFSHORE 50
Offshore wind auction 2022
BP's alternative energy investment (2907 MW): Floating
SSE Renewables (2610 MW): Floating
Falk Renewables (1200 MW): Floating
Shell New Energies (2000 MW): Floating
Vattenfall (798 MW): Floating
DEME (1008 MW): Floating
DEME (1008 MW): Floating
Falck Renewables (1000 MW): Floating
Ocean Winds (1000 MW): Fixed
Falck Renewables (500 MW): Floating
Scottish Power Renewables (3000 MW): Floating
BayWa (960 MW): Floating
Offshore Wind Energy (2000 MW): Fixed
Northland Power (1500 MW): Floating
Magnora (495 MW): Blended
Northland Power (840 MW): Fixed
Scottish Power Renewables (2000 MW): Fixed
It is projected 50 % of the floating offshore wind power
 WIND OFFSHORE 51

Regulatory framework and relevant documents

Royal Decree 1028/2007, of July 20, 2007, which establishes the administrative
procedure for the processing of applications for authorization of electricity
generation facilities in the territorial sea (suspended).

Interesting Link: https://elperiodicodelaenergia.com/el-gobierno-suspende-la-presentacion-de-nuevos-proyectos-

de-eolica-marina-en-espana/
 WIND OFFSHORE 52

Floating wind technology developed in Spain

Source: AEE
 WIND OFFSHORE 53

Onshore VS Offshore
Most important: Each project must be evaluated on an individual basis

• Better wind resource available • Installation costs are approximately twice as high
• No space limitation at sea as on land, mainly due to foundations and
• The impact of the installation is lower, both visually and deployment, as well as operation and
acoustically. maintenance costs.
• Offshore makes transportation much easier, since • Being in a marine environment makes access
everything is carried by sea. more difficult.
• Corrosion
 WIND OFFSHORE 54

Mega trends in wind

energy technology
 WIND OFFSHORE 55

Open discussion
 WIND OFFSHORE 56

Open discussion

Source: Instituto tecnológico de Canarias

 WIND OFFSHORE 57

Open discussion

Source: http://infomar.cedex.es/visor.html
1.2 FLOATING PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR
ENERGY
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 59

Technology introduction
Floating solar PV plants are an emerging form of PV systems that float on the surface of
drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or seas.

Components: Source: World Bank Group, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore

· A floating system: Generally known as pontoon, it is a sturdy structure that holds the solar panel. It is composed of a structure
and a floater and it allows the installation of the PV module.
· A mooring system: It is a permanent structure used to halt the free movement of the floating structure in water. This allows
adjusting water level fluctuations while maintaining its position in a southward direction.
· A PV system: PV Generation equipment. Mostly crystalline solar PV modules have been used for the floating solar systems.
· Underwater Cable: It is used to transfer generated power from water bodies to the substation.

Source: https://www.trace-software.com/floating-pv-plants-a-promising-future-for-solar-energy/
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 60
Advantages
Inshore floating PV Offshore floating PV
• Reduction of land occupation • Reduction of land occupation
• Easy installation and maintenance • Easy installation and maintenance
• Water saving and water quality improvement (average • Efficiency by cooling (+10%) and monitoring systems
savings of 60% of evaporation) (+15-25%)
• Efficiency by cooling (+10%) and monitoring systems • Easy hybridization and coupling with offshore wind
(+15-25%) farms.
• Easy hybridization and coupling with hydroelectric • Synergies with fisheries
power plants. • Potential industrial coastal use (ports, desalination).
• Environmental control (avoids algae proliferation)
• Synergies with fisheries: Especially with fish farms
• Reduction of specific energy cost (+competitive than PV
in some tropical areas)

Souce: https://www.dnv.com/news/dnv-publishes-world-s-first-recommended-practice-for-floating-solar-power-plants-199138 Source: Potential industrial coastal use (ports, desalination).

 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 61
Technology Potential
Peak capacity and energy generation potential of floating
solar on freshwater man-made reservoirs, by continent

Potential annual energy produced with FPV systems at each

Surface area of water bodies in peninsular Spain continental water body in Spain

Source:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130752
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 62

Classification technology

1. Pure floats or floats with a single PV module.

2. Modular floats.
3. Membranes

1. Pure floats or floats with a 2. Modular floats.

single PV module.

Source:https://www.isifloating.com/en/isifloating-english/

3. Membranes
Source:https://renewablewatch.in/2021/03/29/cool-technologies/

Source: https://oceansun.no/project/kyrholmen/
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 63
Technology evolution
Anchoring and mooring systems
There are three basic ways to hold a floating platform in place:

bank anchoring, bottom anchoring, or piles. Developers choose the design that best suits the platform
location, bathymetry (water profile and depth), soil conditions, and variation in water level.

Bottom anchoring

Bank anchoring

Piles
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 64
Technology evolution
Global installed FPV capacity and annual additions

This technology has been created recently,

but due to its simplicity and similarity to
conventional PV, it has grown very rapidly.

Distribution of FPV plants according to their

size, as of December 2018
 FLOATING PV SOLAR ENERGY 65
Technology costs
A comparison of capital investments:
Floating vs. ground-mounted photovoltaic systems

The average total investment cost of an FPV system in 2018

varied between $0.8/Wp and 1.2/Wp, depending on the
system’s size and location.

Costs of floating vs. ground-mounted photovoltaic

systems, by component