Model to Predict Impact of Floating Solar on Water Quality, Based on Collected Data

Recording of Tuesday, May 06, 2025 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2025 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 14:17 .

DRIVER Project Develops Model to Predict Impact of Floating Solar Systems on Water Quality and Ecosystem Balance

The discussion focuses on a model designed to predict the impact of floating solar systems on water quality, based on data from pilot projects. The speaker emphasizes that water bodies are ecosystems with balanced processes, which can be disturbed by installing solar panels. These disturbances include changes in light availability affecting phytoplankton growth and oxygen levels, nutrient dynamics influencing plant decay and methane concentrations, fish behavior alterations due to varying oxygen levels or predator protection under panels, and potential temperature impacts altering solubility rates. The DRIVER project aimed at assessing these impacts over three years across different system setups: east-west open/closed configurations and south-facing open systems. Measurements included air/water temperatures showing minimal yield differences favoring open systems; significant light reduction was noted in closed setups impacting photosynthesis-related processes. Oxygen concentration analyses revealed declines with increased PV coverage—more pronounced in closed systems—highlighting ecosystem sensitivity even to small-scale installations. The study advocates for site-specific assessments rather than fixed regulatory limits when planning floating solar deployments while encouraging further data collection for refining predictive models.

_{Automated summarization by AI Conver}

Speaker

Dr. Wilma Eerenstein
Owner / Senior Consultant
Renergize Consultancy
The Netherlands

Talk of session: Floating Solar Power: Cost Savings & Reliability - How to Prevent Your Business Case from Failing

Floating solar holds significant potential in regions with abundant water bodies, but practical challenges and high costs have tempered expectations in Europe. While technological advancements are gradually improving feasibility, and companies are even looking for new solutions, such as hybrid-offshore systems, navigating the complexities of deployment, reliability, and financing remains critical for long-term success. This session will discuss: Overview of floating PV market developments Challenges, lessons learned and innovative approaches Environmental implications of FPV applications Technology innovations & standardization developments Cost reduction strategies and financing solutions

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome & Introduction

Speaker

Michele Tagliapietra
Head of Product Management Floating-PV
BayWa r.e.
Belgium

To Talk

PV Market Overview & Technology Update

Speaker

Dr. Thomas Reindl
Deputy CEO, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), National University of Singapore (NUS) Cluster Director,
Solar Energy Systems
Singapore

Recording of presentation not authorized for publication.