MarketSurvey

FloatingPV2024

Authors:ShravanK.Chunduri,MichaelSchmela,OlgaPapathanasiou

FIoatingPV2024ITaiyangNews3

ExecutiveSummary

AIthoughtheshareofsoIarpoweringIobaIeIectricity

generationisstiIIsmaII,thetechnoIogyisgrowingvery

rapidIy一andinmoreadvancedsoIarmarkets,occasionaIIydeveIopersaIreadyfaceIocaIoppositiontosoIarpower

parksduetocompetinginterestsonIanduse.AmongthesoIarindustry’seffortstooptimizeutiIizationofIandand

findandboostalternativestotraditionalground-mountedappIications,aninterestingoptionisincreasingIyemerging–FloatingPhotovoltaics(FPV),alsocalledfloatingsolarorfloatovoltaics.Simplyput,FPVisaconfigurationwheresolarsystemsfloatonwaterbodies.Thisbringsseveral

benefitscomparedtoland-basedsolarparks–fromconservationofIand,protectionofwaterquaIity,Iowerwaterevaporation,andthepotentiaIforhighersystemyieIds.

WhiIethereareaIreadysomeFPVreportsavaiIabIe,

theyaremostIyaboutmarketpotentiaIorbestpractice

recommendations.Our1stMarketSurveyonFPVfocusesonthecommerciaIproductsonoffertoday.Wehave

taIkedtoFPVmanufacturersaroundtheworIdtoprovideproductIeveIdetaiIsofthekeysystemcomponents,Iikefloaters,anddiscussotherimportantaspectsofafloatingsolarsystem.ThisTaiyangNewssurveylists13productswithtechnicaIspecsfrom9suppIiers,incIudingthemarketIeadersinthissegment.

AtypicalFPVsystemfeaturesafloatingbeddesignedtohousethePVsystem'scomponents.Toensurestability

andminimaImovement,thepIatformisanchoredand

moored.ThisfloatingfoundationismadeoffloatersandotheressentiaIeIectricaIcomponentsIikecombinerboxes,invertersandtransformers.SoIarmoduIesaremounted

onthesefloaters,andmaintenancewalkwaysarealsointegrated.SpecializedfloatsareusedforthecablesthatIinktothegrid.Chapter2deIvesintothedetaiIsoftheseFPVcomponents.

TheglobalFPVmarkethasbeenonanupwardtrajectoryinrecentyears,growingfroma1GWIeveIin2018toa

totalof4.3GWbytheendof2022,withfurtherstrong

growthanticipated.Weprovidesomeinsightsintothe

historicaIgrowthofFPVandfutureexpectationsin

Chapter3.1&3.2.ThereisawidevarietyofFPVsolutionsavaiIabIefromcompaniesthatcomefromdifferent

backgrounds,andthesurveyhasinputsfrommostofthemarketIeaders一withSungrowfromChinaheadingthesegmentwithaninstaIIedcapacityof2.6GW.Chapter3.3shedssomelightontheseFPVplayers,including

theirbusinessmodeIs,rangeofsoIutionsandinstaIIedcapacities.

Therearedifferenttypesoffloaters,andevery

manufacturerhasdifferentproductsundereachfloater

category.WhiIemanyfocusoninIandwaterbodies,

offshorePVisgainingmomentum.AIternativesoIutions

likemembrane-basedfloatersareemerging.WhileFPV

deveIopersoftenusetypicaIstandardmoduIes,some

IeadingmoduIemanufacturershavestartedtoproduce

panelsspecificallydesignedforFPVenvironments.A

nichetechnoIogy,FPVstiIIfacesmanychaIIenges一fromcost,tomissingstandardsandpoIicyframeworks.We

discussFPVtechnoIogydeveIopmentsandthechaIIengesinChapter4.

FIoatertechnoIogies,whiIeseveraI,canbebroadIy

categorizedinto3types.Themostpopulararethe

pontoon-typefloatersofferedby4companies:Sungrow,Ciel&Terre,FostandIsigenere.Metal-basedmountingstructuressupportedbyfloatingbodiesarealsoofferedby4companies:Zimmermann,SolarisFloat,Swimsol

andSoIarDuck.OceanSunistheonIysuppIierofthe

membrane-basedFPVsolution.Chapter5provides

detaiIeddescriptionsoftheproductsIistedinthissurvey.

AftertheconcIusionsinChapter6,thesurveyendswithatablelistingthespecsofthe13productsinChapter7.

tEnjoyreadingour1stMarketSurveyonFloatingPV

ShravanK.Chunduri

HeadofTechnology,TaiyangNews

shravan.chunduri@

+919963270005Hyderabad,India

MichaelSchmela

OlgaPapathanasiou

4TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

Contents

01

02

03

Overview

8

Introduction6

12

?KeyComponentsofFPV

FPVMarketupdate&potential

?GlobalFPVmarketdevelopments

?Midium-termgrowthestimateandpotential

?FPVPlayers

04

05

06

KeydevelopmentsinFPV19

Productdescriptions26

Conclusions34

?Keycharacteristics&componentsofFPV

?FPVondifferentwaterbodies?Membranebasedfloaters

?FPVforoffshore?ModulesforFPV

?Criticalaspects&challenges

07

specificationstable

Product

36

Advertisers:

?TaiyangNews2024

Allrightsreserved.

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OLAR

P.2

HUASUN

P.4

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P.45

TaiyangNewsMarketSurveyFloatingPV2024ISBN:978-3-949046-23-0

Thetext,photosandgraphsinthisreportarecopyrighted(coverphotocredit:

Sungrow,TaiyangNews).TaiyangNewsdoesnotguaranteereliability,accuracyorcompletenessofthisreport'scontent.TaiyangNewsdoesnotacceptresponsibilityorliabilityforanyerrorsinthiswork.

Publisher:

TaiyangNewsUG(haftungsbeschraenkt)AnderGolzheimerHeide23

40468Duesseldorf,Germany

FloatingPV2024|TaiyangNews5

6TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

1.Introduction

Solarpowerisshiningbrighterthanever.This

sourceofrenewableenergyisquicklygrowingas

areliableandcleanenergysourcethatcanhelp

reducegreenhousegasemissionsandcombat

climatechangewhilesecuringlocalandregional

energysecurity.However,therapiddeploymentofsolarpower,whichgrewtoaround440GWin2023andisexpectedtoincreasefurthertoTW-level

annualdeploymentsbefore2030,alsorequirestheuseofvastamountsofappropriateland,whichhaslimitedavailabilityandfacescompetingneeds.Thisisaddressedbytraditionalapplicationsforsolar

power,suchasrooftop,aswellasmore‘innovative’formslikebuildingintegratedPV(BIPV)andagri-

PV,whichallenablethedualuseofland,maximizingthebenefitsofsolarpower.FloatingPV(FPV),alsocalledFloatovoltaicsorFloatingSolar,isyetanotherinterestingandevolvingapplicationofsolarpower

thatisenablingtheuseofwaterastheinstallationsiteinsteadofland.FloatingPVsystemsarefloatingplatformsthatsupportsolarpanelsandcableson

watersurfaces,initiallyartificiallakes,reservoirs,

lagoonsandcanals,butitisnowalsostartingto

expandtooffshore.FPVsystemsgenerallyfeedintotransmissiongrids,buttheycanalsoprovideclean

andreliableelectricitytoremoteareasandislandsthatlackgridaccessorhavehighelectricitycosts.

Beyondtheirmainbenefitofsavingonlanduse,FPVsystemshaveotherbenefitsoverground-mountedPVpowerplants.Theyaretypicallymoreefficient

thanland-basedutility-scalesystemsbecausetheoperatingtemperaturesforthePVpanelsinsuch

installationsarelower,therebyincreasingenergy

yields.FPVsystemsalsocanhelpinreducingwaterevaporationandprotectingoverallwaterqualityinreservoirs.Theyalsooffercostreductionpotentialbysharingtheexistingelectricalinfrastructureofthewaterbodies,amongothers.

Whilemorevisiblenow,theconceptofinstallingPVmodulesonawatersurfaceisnotcompletelynew–reportedly,thefirst20kWFPVsystemhasbeeninexistenceinAichi,Japansince2007.About7

yearslater,in2014,globalFPVinstallationcapacityreached10MW,surpassed1GWin2018andstoodataround4.3GWbytheendof2022.Stillinitsveryearlystages,thepotentialforFPVisgigantic–a

WorldBank/SERISreportseesFPV’stheoreticalpotentialatover4TW,withonly10%coverage

Source:Sungrow

FloatingEverywhere:FPVisaversatileemergingbranchofPVthatissuitablefordiverselocationslikereservoirs,rivers,ponds,andoffshoresites,offeringcleanenergygenerationwithoutlandacquisition.

FloatingPV2024|TaiyangNews7

Source:Zimmermann

HugePotential:AresearchreportestimatesthatFPVhasthepotentialtoproduce10TWhperyearbycovering30%oftheworld'sreservoirsorasignificant4TWhperyearevenatamodest10%

coverage.

ofman-madewaterreservoirsused.Lookingat

offshoreFPV,thepotentialisobviouslymuchlarger.

ThebeautyofFPVisthatitrequiresbasically

thesamecomponentsastraditionalPVsystems,withonemajordifference–FPVneedsafloatingstructureonwhichthesolarmodulesareinstalled;moreover,thisplatformmustbefixedinthewater.Thereareseveralvariantsoffloatersbased

ondifferenttechnologiesofferedbydifferent

internationalcompanies.

Our1stMarketSurveyonFloatingPVaimsto

provideinsightsintothisbuddingapplicationofPV.WhilewediscusstheimportantaspectsaroundFPVsystems,themaindifferencetootherpublicationsonthistopicisthatthisisasurveythatprovides

technicalspecsoftheproductsofferedbytheleadingsuppliersofFPVsystems.

8TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

2.Overview

FPVisapromisingtechnologywithanumberof

advantagesoverland-basedsolarPV.AshighlightedbymarketleaderSungrowfromChinaatthe

TaiyangNewsAdvancedSolarModuleApplications

2023Conference,FPVsystemshavepositivesocialeffects,provideeconomicbenefitsfromtechnical

development,andofferenvironmentaladvantages.SungrowsJuliaWangsaidinhertalkon

Recent

Techno-CommercialDevelopmentsinFPV

about

thesocialaspectoffloatingsolarthatitcanavoid

conflictsofgroundusage,whichisparticularly

beneficialindevelopingcountrieswherelandisoftenscarce.Itopensupnewopportunitiesforscaling

upsolargeneratingcapacity.Highmodularityand

eliminationofsitepreparationinvolvingcivilworks

aresomeaspectsofwhatSungrowcallstechnical

economy.Thesystemsalloweasyinstallationand

deploymentatsiteswithlowanchoringandmooringrequirements.Itcanalsoimprovetheenergyyield

byupto10%,thankstothecoolingeffectofwater,saidWang.Thereisalsoareductioninpanel

soilingasthedustdepositioninsuchlocationsis

relativelyless.Intermsofenvironmentalbenefits,

becauseofthefoodgradematerialused,thefloatingstructurehasnonegativeeffectsonwaterquality.

FPVinstallationsalsoimprovethewaterqualitybysuppressingalgalgrowth.Inareaswithlimitedwaterresources,FPVcanreducewaterevaporationfromthereservoirs,asthepanelsprovideshadeand

limittheevaporativeeffectofwind;thiscanreduceevaporationbyupto40%.

Ontheflipside,FPValsomustmasterseveral

challenges.FPVsystemsoverallarecurrentlymoreexpensivetoinstallandmaintainthanland-based

solarPVsystems.Theyrequiremoresophisticatedmaterialstomakesurethatfloatsdonothave

negativeenvironmenteffectsonwaterduringtheirlifetime.Moreover,theoperatingconditionsaremorecomplexandneedahigherdegreeofprotection

duringharshweatherconditions,inparticularwhenitcomestooffshoreapplications.Beingarelativelynewtechnology,thereisstillsomeuncertaintyaboutFPV’slong-termperformanceandenvironmental

impact.Thoughimproving,thesegmentstill

suffersfromthelackofstandardsandlegislativeframeworks,whicharedelayingitswidespreadadoption.

Despitethechallenges,theadvantagesofFPVseemcompelling,asshowninanoverviewonthe

EnvironmentalandTechnicalImpactsofFloating

PhotovoltaicPlantsasanEmergingCleanEnergy

Technology

publishedbyPouranetal.iniScience(seegraph).Morerecently,in2024,German

renewablesdeveloperBayWar.e.releaseda

whitepaperon

TheEnvironmentalImpactsof

FloatingSolar

,whichconfirmedthepositiveeffects

Source:Ciel&Terre

EssentialElements:AtypicalFPVsetupincludesasecuredfloatingbedholdingPVcomponents,

anchoredto

preventexcessivemovement,

comprisingfloaterswithmodules,

electricalelements,andcablefloats,

whilefloatersaretheheartofthe

system.

FloatingPV2024|TaiyangNews9

ofFPVsystemsontheenvironment,concluding

that“OperationalstudiesindicateFPVcausesnonoticeablenegativeimpactonwaterquality,evenathighwatercoverageratioupto50%.Onthe

contrary,itcanaccommodateaquaticlifeanddrivebiodiversityenhancement.”

2.1KeycomponentsofFPV

Atfirstglance,theprimarycomponentsofaFloatingPhotovoltaic(FPV)systemappearidenticaltothoseofastandardsystem:

?PVarrays,whichconsistofanassemblyofinterconnectedsolarmodules;

?mountingsystems;

?AC/DCinverters;

?cables;

?fuses;

?switchgears;

?auxiliaryloadcircuits;

?MVtransformers;

?gridconnections;and

?securitysystems.

TheonlydifferenceisthatFPVrequiresaspecialarrangementtokeepitfloatingonwater.AtypicalFPVsystemconsistsofafloatingbedthathousesthecomponentsofthePVsystem.Inordertokeeptheplatformintactwithrestrictedmovement,itis

anchoredandmoored.Thefloatingplatform

isanassemblyoffloatersmountedwithmodules,

andotherelectricalcomponentsofthePVsystemssuchascombinerboxes,inverters,transformers

andwalkwaysformaintenance.Therearealso

specialfloatsforthecablesthatconnecttonearestloads.Astheplatformissubjectedtomovements

withinapredefinedrange,thecablesrequirespecialcareregardingstabilityandsafety.Whilethesolarmodulesarealwaysmountedonfloats,combiner

boxes,invertersandtransformersmightbeplacedonland,incaseofsmallFPVsystemscloseto

shore.Naturally,floatersarethekeycomponent

ofanFPVsystem.Thefloatingmaterialmustbe

lightweightsothatitcanstayafloat.Itmustalso

beresistanttocorrosionfromwaterandother

chemicals,aswellasenvironmentalstresscrackingfromwind,waves,andfrost.Finally,thematerial

mustberesistanttoultravioletradiationandmustnotpollutethewaterenvironment.High-density

polyethylene(HDPE)isacommonlyusedmaterialforfloatingPVsystemsbecauseitmeetsallthe

aboverequiredcharacteristics.

Whilethereareseveralfloatertechnologies

available,theycanbebroadlycategorizedinto3types:

?OnetypeofFPVsystemthatisbroadly

deployedisthepontoontype,inwhichthesolarmodulesaremounteddirectlyontothefloatswith

MainAdvantagesandPotentialChallengesofFPVSystems

TheupandflipsideofFPV:

Floatingsolaroffersseveraladvantages,includingnoland

usageandeffectiveutilizationof

existingelectricalinfrastructure.

However,italso

presentsafew

challenges,suchascomplexinstallationandmaintenance.

Source:

Pouranetal.

10TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

fasteningequipmentincorporatedintothefloatingstructure.Basedonamodulardesign,these

pontoonscanbejoinedwithpinsorboltstobuildalargefloatingplatform.Eachfloatertypically

consistsofamainfloaterwithmodulesinstalledandasecondaryfloaterthatservesasawalkwayforO&Mactivities.

?Theotherapproachalsousespontoonsfor

buoyancy,butthemodulesareinstalledonthemetalstructuresintegratedintothepontoons.Except

forthepontoonspart,thistypeoffloatingsystemcloselyresemblesland-basedPVinstallations.

?Thethirdvarietyisnotabouthowtoinstall

modules,butratherthematerials.Here,areinforcedmembrane,supportedbyadditionalstructuressuchastubularringsthatprovidebuoyancy,isusedas

thefloatingplatform.

Nexttothefloaters,anchoringandmooringsystemsarethekeyingredientsoftheFPVsystem.They

keepthefloatingPVarrayinplaceandpreventit

fromdriftingaway.Theyalsohelpthesystemtobeintactwithchangingwaterlevelsandhighspeed

winds.Theanchoringandmooringsystemis

typicallycomposedofanchors,mooringlines,and

buoys.Theanchorsaretypicallysecuredtothe

waterbed,andthemooringlines,typicallynylon

polyesterropes,connecttheanchorstothefloatingPVarray.Thebuoyshelpkeepthemooringlines

afloatandpreventthemfromdraggingatthebottom.

Anchoringcanbedoneinmanyways.Bank

anchoringisthesimplestandeconomical,as

theFPVsystemisanchoredtothebankofthe

waterbodyusingcablesandchains.However,it

istypicallyusedforsmallerFPVsystemsinareaswithcalmwaters.Bottomanchoring,beingrobustandflexible,isthemostpopular;however,italsohasseveralvariations.Gravityanchoringisa

commononeandisalsorelativelysimple.Itusesheavyweights,suchasconcreteblocks,toanchorthefloatingPVsystemtothebottomofthewaterbody.Pileanchoringismoresecurethangravityanchoring,butitisalsomoreexpensivegiventhecostoflongmetaltubesthataredrivenintothe

waterbed.

ThisapproachhashightolerancesforwaterlevelvariationsandistypicallyusedforlargerFPV

systemsorinareaswithstrongcurrentsorwaves.

Suctionanchoringisarelativelynewtechnology,usedinothermarineapplicationswithapotentialapplicationinFPV.Itusesanchorsthatstickto

thebottomofthewaterbodythroughsuctionbutrequiressuitablesoilconditions.Draganchoringisyetanothervariant,inwhichtheanchorsare

draggedalongthewaterbedandaretypicallyusedintemporarysetups.

Thetypeofmooringsystemmainlyvaries

dependingonthenumberofmooringlinesand

respectiveanchors,whichcouldbesingle-point,4ormulti,andareprefixedrespectively.ThemooringsystemthatisbestforaparticularFPVarraywill

dependonanumberoffactors,includingthesizeofthearray,theenvironmentalconditionssuchaswindspeed,waves,currentsandtides,andalsothebudget.

2.2Surveyparticipants

LikeotherapplicationsofPV,FPValsorequires

severalspecificcomponents.However,when

breakingitdowntoproducts,floatersarewhatreallydifferentiatethisPVapplicationfromothers.Ontop,thesuppliersofthesefloaters,atleasttheleading

ones,arealsoofferingcompleteFPVsolutions

includingdesign,planning,engineering,installations,commissioning,operationandmaintenance,eitherontheirownorthroughcertifiedpartners.Thisis

alsotherationalebehindconsideringfloatersonlyasaproduct-levelsubjectinthisfirstTaiyangNewsMarketSurveyonFPV,whichlists13productsfrom9suppliersincludingmarketleaders(seethetablenextpage).

Asmentionedabove,thesefloaterscanbedividedinto3categories.Themostpopulararethepontoontype,whichareofferedbythetop2players–

SungrowandCiel&Terre–aswellasFostand

Isigenere.Metal-basedmountingstructures

supportedbyfloatingbodiesareofferedby4

companies–Zimmermann,SolarisFloat,Swimsol

andSolarDuck.Themembrane-basedsolutionhasonlyonerepresentationinthesurveyfromOcean

Sun.Themajorityofthesurveyparticipantsare

focusingoninlandwatersandareoftenreadyto

install“nearshore.”Inthiscontext,SolarDuckearnsaspecialmention,asthecompanyexclusively

focusesonoffshoreinstallations.SolarisFloatisalsouniqueinthatitoffersafloatingsolutionwithsun

trackingability.

FloatingPV2024|TaiyangNews11

Company

Pontoons

Pontoons

+Metal

Structures

Membrane

Ciel&Terre

√

FOSTSolar(Xiamen)NewEnergyCo.,Ltd

√

Isigenere

√

OceanSun

√

SolarDuck

√

SolarisFloat

√

SungrowFPV

√

Swimsol

√

Zimmermann

√

Source:TaiyangNews

Leadersarein:Atotalof9companies,includingthemarketleadersofthesegment,haveprovidedinputforTaiyangNews’1stFPVmarketsurvey.

12TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

3.FPVmarketupdate&potential

3.1GlobalFPVmarketdevelopments

IttookawhilebutnowFPVisonaclear

commercializationpath.Afterthefirst20kWFPVsystemwasinstalledin2007,ittook7yearsuntil

2014toreachthe10MWlevel,4yearsbeforethe

1GWmarkwassurpassedin2018,andanother3yearstotripletheinstalledcapacitytoover3GW

by2021.AccordingtoJasonSheridan,Senior

ResearchAnalystatS&PGlobal,whoprovideda

detailedFPVmarketoverviewinaFloatingSolar

SessionatIntersolarEuropeConferenceinJune

2023,thecumulativeinstalledcapacityofFPV

systemswas4.3GWbytheendof2022.APACwasthepredominantFPVregionoperatingapproximately87%oftheglobalfloatingsolarcapacity(seegraph).SeveralAPACcountrieshaveplayedapivotalroleinthegrowthofthefloatingsolarmarket–withChina,India,TaiwanandThailandemergingaskeyplayers,whicharealso4ofthetop5marketsforFPV.

LikeeverywhereinPV,ChinaalsostandsoutasthemajorFPVplayer,withsignificantinstallationscontributingtoAPAC'sdominance.Bytheend

of2022,China'sfloatingsolarcapacityreached

1.76GW,representing41%oftheworldwidetotal

capacity,followedbyIndiaat14%,Taiwan10%andThailand4%.Inresponsetoitsgoalofachieving

carbonpeakby2030andnetzeroby2060,

ChinahaslauncheddozensofGW-scaleoffshorePVprojects.Shandongprovince,forexample,

hasformulatedaplanfor40GWofoffshorePV

projects,including2GWofFPV.Shandonghas

alsodecidedtoprovidesubsidiesforFPVprojects,withapproximatelyUS$0.14/Winthefirstyear,

decreasingyearbyyearthereafter,whichhascontributedtoaveryattractiveIRRof6%to7%,higherthanmostonshoreutilityPVplants.

AnimportanttrendaccordingtoSheridanisthat,

thoughmodest,theFPVsegmenthasstarted

growingnotablyoutoftheAPACregion,particularlyin2022.Europe,MEAandAmericascollectively

represent13%ofthemarket.Whenitcomesto

Europe,floatinginstallationsshotupfrom10MWin2017to270MWby2022.However,with215MWofFPVsystemsinstalled,theNetherlandsnotonlytakesthelion'sshareat76%ofthetotal,butitis

alsotheonlyEuropeanplayerthatisintheglobal

Source:S&PGlobal

TheFPVmarketgrewsignificantlyinthepastfewyears.DevelopedfullyinAsia,theshareofothermarketshasbeenincreasingbutremainsminiscule.Endof2022,87%ofalloperatingFPVplantswereoperatedinAsia.

FloatingPV2024|TaiyangNews13

Source:S&PGlobal

Likeinotherfieldsofsolar,ChinadominatesFPVdeploymentsaswell.AccordingtoS&P,41%oftotalinstalledcapacitybyendof2022wasoperatedinChina.

leagueoftop5.Thecountryhasalsoannounced

anambitioustargetforoffshorefloatingPVof3GWby2030.France,PortugalandItalyaretheother

promisingmarketsoftheEuropeancontinentforFPV.

Anotherimportantchangethathasbeenmore

prominentfrom2022hasbeenthatFPVisattractingleadingEuropeanPVdevelopers,resultingin

increasedactivitywiththetechnology,accordingtoSheridan.TheMEAandAmericasregionscombinedrepresent7%ofinstalledcapacity,bothshowinganimpressivegrowthfrom2021to2022.Backedby

theInflationReductionACT(IRA),FPVintheUnitedStatesisexpectedtogrowsignificantly,especiallyontheEastCoast.InJune2023,an8.9MWFPVplant,thelargestintheUSsofar,wasputintooperation.

3.2FPVmidium-termgrowthestimateandpotential

AlthoughFPVonlyaccountsforaverysmallshareoftodaysPVmarket,whichisexpectedtostay

relativelyunchangedinthemediumterm,itoffershugelong-termpotential–andwillcontinueto

grownotably.AccordingtoSheridan,installedFPVcapacitywillincreasefromaround4GWin2022toabout15GWin2026and30GWbyendof2030.

WhileAPACwillcontinuetodriveFPVsgrowth,

seeingamarketshareof80%,otherregionswillalsoseeaugmentedactivity.

LookingatthebigpictureofFPV,aWorldBank

&SERISreportfrom2018,

WhereSunMeets

Wate

r,pegsthetechnologystheoreticalpotential

at400GW,with1%coverageofman-madewaterreservoirsused;andover4TWif10%wereused.Whileinthemeantimedifferentassumptionsand

numbershavebeenpublished,aMarch2023jointpublicationin

NatureSustainability

byresearch

institutesfromAsia,AmericaandEuropeestimatesthatthepracticalpotentialelectricitygenerationforFPVsystemsonreservoirsisaround9.4PWhperyear,assuminga30%coverageofglobalreservoirs,andat4PWhperyearevenwhenloweringthe

coverageto10%.

InJanuary2024,Chineseresearcherspublishedan

AssessmentofFloatingSolarPhotovolticPotenial

inChina

,estimatingthatinstalledFPVcapacityin

thecountrycouldreachbetween705GWand863GWonwaterreservoirs(excludingnaturallakes)

generatingannualpoweroutputof1.16to1.42

PWh,whichwouldresultinannualreductionof

waterevaporationof5.8km3while7,117km2ofland

14TaiyangNews|FloatingPV2024

Source:S&PGlobal

AttheIntersolarEuropeConference2023,S&PforecastedglobalFPVinstalledcapacitytogrowfrom4.3GWendof2022tonearly30GWby2030.

wouldnotbeneededforsolarsystemdeployments.Accordingtothisresearch,“mostpotentialFPV

stationscanobtainfinancialpositivereturns.”

However,whentakingintoconsiderationtheoffshoreopportunities,thepotentialisobviouslymuchlarger.Backtotoday’sreality,SolarPowerEuropepointsinitsrecentlypublishedfirst

FloatingPVBestPractice

Guidelines

toanIEA-PVPSreportthatforecasts

around60GWoftotalinstalledFPVcapacityby

2030,which,asthesolarlobbyorganizationsays,“highlightstheneedtostrengthenpolicyandmarketsupportforfloatingsolarifitstruepotentialistobeharnessed.”

3.3FPVplayers

WhenitcomestoFPVsolutionproviders,oursurveyhasinputsfrommostmarketleaders.SungrowFPVisawholly-ownedsubsidiaryofSungrowGroup,

theundisputedmarketleaderintheFPVsegment.TheChinesecompanyhasprovidedsolutionsfor

morethan220projectswithtotalcapacityexceeding2.6GW.Whilemostoftheprojectsexecutedby

thecompanyarelocatedinSoutheastAsiaandinChina,thecompanymadebreakthroughsinsomeotherregionslikeinAfrica,EuropeandAustralia.

Theapplicationsofthecompanyarediversifiedwithrespecttodifferentwaterbodiesincludingreservoirs,

inlandrivers,fishingponds,lakes,snowyareas,

industrialponds,regionswithtyphoonsandeven

offshorelocations.ThecompanyalsohasastrongIPportfoliowithmorethan200patentsrelatedto

FPVintheareasoffloatingbody,anchorsystem,aswellasinverter&boosterfloatingplatform.

SungrowmanufacturesHDPEfloats,module

bracketsthatsupportthePVpanelonthefloats,

andthebracketsforthecombinerboxesandthe

aperturesalongwithmoori