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This paper must be cited as:

Redn-Santaf, M.; Ferrer-Gisbert, P.; Snchez-Romero, F.; Torregrosa Soler, JB.; Ferran
Gozalvez, JJ.; Ferrer Gisbert, CM. (2014). IMPLEMENTATION OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC
FLOATING COVER FOR IRRIGATION RESERVOIRS. Journal of Cleaner Production.
66:568-570. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.006.

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http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.006

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1
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3 IMPLEMENTATION OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC FLOATING COVER FOR
4 IRRIGATION RESERVOIRS
5
6
7
8
9 Miguel Redn Santaf
10 Pablo S. Ferrer Gisbert1
11
Francisco Javier Snchez Romero
12
13 Juan Bautista Torregrosa Soler
14 Jos Javier Ferrn Gozlvez
15
16 Carlos M. Ferrer Gisbert
17
18
19 Universitat Politcnica de Valncia. Departamento de Ingeniera Rural y Agroalimentaria.
20 Camino de Vera s/n 46022 VALENCIA. Tel 96 3877543. Fax 96 3877549
21 1
Universidad Politcnica de Valncia. Departamento de Proyectos de Ingeniera.
22
23 Camino de Vera s/n 46022 VALENCIA. Tel 96 3877007 ext 75681
24 Abstract
25 The article presents the main features of a floating photovoltaic cover system (FPCS) for
26 water irrigation reservoirs whose purpose is to reduce the evaporation of water while
27
generating electrical power. The system consists of polyethylene floating modules which are
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29 able to adapt to varying reservoir water levels by means of tension bars and elastic
30 fasteners.
31
32 Keywords: renewable energy, water reservoirs, floating covers.
33
34
35 1. Introduction
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37 Electricity consumption of many irrigation systems has increased considerably due to
38 irrigation modernization plans. Therefore, nowadays, power costs form a high proportion of
39 the running costs of many farmers irrigation associations.
40
On the other hand, the new irrigation plans involve the transformation of traditional systems
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42 into pressurized systems. In most cases, this modernization has demanded the construction
43 of water reservoirs. Among the different storage systems available, earth reservoirs
44 waterproofed with geomembranes are the most widely used solution.
45 In arid and semi-arid climates, water stored in reservoirs would be better managed if
46 evaporation losses from the water surface were reduced but the practice of covering
47 irrigation reservoirs is still relatively little used, although as water is becoming an ever scarcer
48 resource, interest in these systems is expected to grow in the future. Techno-economic
49
analyses conducted for several mitigation evaporation technologies confirm the exposed
50
51 trend [1, 2]. Also, economics of deploying floating photovoltaic (PV) array concept for
52 commercial electricity generation has been successfully developed by Trapani et al. [3, 4].
53 Additionally, since water reservoirs are fully integrated in the irrigation and water supply
54 network of geographical areas with profitable agricultural activity, land is deemed to be used
55 for food production.
56 With these premises, a floating photovoltaic cover system (FPCS) has been developed
57
seeking both to reduce evaporation of water and also generate renewable electricity [5]. In
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 1 such way, the irrigation system will move towards a more sustainable activity and thus, the
2 whole agricultural sector.
3
4 2. Description of the system
5
6 The system consists of the following key elements [5] (Figure 1):
7
8 Floating platform (pontoons) which guarantee the buoyancy and stability of the
9 electricity-generating system. They are made from MDPE by rotational moulding and
10 each supports two PV panels.
11
12 Supporting structure (UF and CF cold-formed metal frames) which must be able to
13 withstand the weight of the PV modules and transmit wind forces across the pontoons
14 to the anchoring system located above the crest of the embankment.
15
16 Articulated metal couplings between pontoons (metal chains or cables linking the
17 pontoons together, allowing vertical and horizontal displacements as well as
18 rotations) so that the deck is able to adapt to the concave profile of the reservoir.
19
20
Flexible couplings (rubber or MDPE straps allowing to stretch up to a fixed length
21 imposed by the action of a rigid polyester or nylon rope that works when the
22 maximum displacement has been reached). So, the pontoons are able to move in
23 relation to one another so that the system can adapt to different water levels.
24
25 Ropes (polyester and nylon nautical ropes) used to tie the outside modules of the
26 floating cover to the sides of the reservoir.
27 Rigid anchoring system (reinforced concrete piles that resist lateral forces through the
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29 passive pressure of the surrounding ground) that anchors the floating cover and
30 transmits horizontal forces to the sides of the reservoir.
31
32
33 Figure 1: Components of a FPCS
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38 3. System implementation
39 In 2009, a full-scale prototype (1:1) of the FPCS was built in a test installation over an
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irrigation water reservoir in Agost (Alicante, Spain). The area covered was 350 m2 (around
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42 7% of the water surface of the reservoir) corresponding to a maximum installed power of 20
43 kWn (Figure 2).
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47 a) b)
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 1 Figure 2: FPCS prototype: a) Aerial view; b) Side view
2
3 The favourable results obtained from the pilot plant along two years, prompted covering the
4 whole of the reservoir with 1,458 PV panels supported on 750 pontoons in 2012, over a
5 water surface of 4,490 m2 (Figure 3).
6
7
8
9 Figure 3: The reservoir completely covered by PV panels
10
11 The electricity-generating plant has a nominal capacity of 300 kWn, which gives an annual
12 production of 425,000 kWh year-1 of renewable energy, which is fed directly into the supply
13
network. The water saved thanks to covering the reservoir reaches 5,000 m3 year1, which
14
15 means 25% of the reservoirs storage capacity.
16 Available data show how the successive cycles of filling and emptying the reservoir, with the
17 consequent inclination of the panels, do not adversely affect the performance of the plant.
18
19
20 4. Conclusions
21
22 The system is technically feasible and economically viable as developed by the author [6].
23 Due to the continuous increase of electricity prices and declining prices of PV modules, the
24 self-consumption is presented as an option increasingly promising the system exposed.
25
26 There is a great potential for the installation of floating solar panel electricity generating
27 plants in order to improve the water and energy balances in arid and semi-arid zones with
28 scarce water resources, as in areas near to the Spanish eastern Mediterranean coastline.
29
30 5. References
31 [1] Martinez lvarez V, Gonzlez-Real MM, Baille A, Maestre Valero FJ, Gallego Elvira B.
32
33
Regional assessment of evaporation from agricultural irrigation reservoirs in a semiarid
34 climate. Agricultural Water Management 2008; 95:1056-66.
35 [2] Craig I, Green A, Scobie M, Schmidt E. Controlling Evaporation loss from water storages,
36 vol. 207. Queensland:NCEA Publication; 2005. No 1000580/1.
37
38 [3] Trapani K, Millar DL, Smith HCM. Novel offshore application of photovoltaics in
39 comparison to conventional marine renewable energy technologies. Renewable Energy.
40 2013;50:879-88.
41
42 [4] Trapani K, Millar DL. Proposing offshore photovoltaic (PV) technology to the energy mix
43 of the Maltese islands. Energy Conversion and Management. 2013;67:18-26.
44
45 [5] Redn-Santaf, M. Diseo de un Sistema de Cubierta Flotante Fotovoltaica para Balsas
46 de Riego. Tesis doctoral. Universitat Politcnica de Valencia, Valencia, Espaa; 2011.
47
[6] Ferrer-Gisbert C, Ferrn-Gozlvez JJ, Redn-Santaf M, Ferrer-Gisbert P, Snchez-
48
49 Romero FJ, Torregrosa-Soler JB. A new photovoltaic floating cover system for water
50 reservoirs. Renewable Energy. 2013; 60:63-70.
51 Correspondence (For further information contact):
52
53 Miguel Redn Santaf
54 Departamento de Ingeniera Rural y Agroalimentaria.
55 Universidad Politcnica de Valencia
56 46022 Camino de Vera s/n
57 miresan@agf.upv.es
58 34 963877007 ext 75431
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