This year, the Cleantech Open award as the best green project of the moment (Renewable Energy category) was won by Solaris Synergy, an Israeli company that has created, after years of study and research, a 1 KWp floating photovoltaic prototype. We had already talked about this line of research regarding five innovative systems built or designed around the world, but apparently the topic has not gone out of fashion at all. One of the biggest problems of a photovoltaic system, in fact, is the need to sacrifice free land to build it. So why not exploit water surfaces such as lakes, seas or artificial basins?
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
To win the prize Cleantech Open as the best green project of the moment (category Energy Rinnovabili), this year was the Solaris Synergy, an Israeli company that has created, after years of study and research, a prototype of floating photovoltaic da 1 KWp. We had already talked about this line of research in relation to five innovative systems made or designed around the world, but apparently the topic has not gone out of fashion at all. One of the biggest problems of a photovoltaic systemin fact, it is the need to sacrifice free land to make it happen. So why not exploit water surfaces such as lakes, seas or reservoirs?
No sooner said than done. With a fundamental novelty - why, perhaps, the prize from dollars 100.000 it was assigned to them. Israeli engineers used not the classic technology of the solar panels, but the most recent of the concentrating photovoltaics. The main problem, in the face of greater efficiency, is linked to the high temperatures reached by the cells. Furthermore, in desert areas such as the Middle East, the day / night temperature variations subject the materials to strong “stress” every day, which greatly shorten their life. In short, it was a question of solving both problems and at the same time making the floating plant competitive.
The solution was ... at hand, in the true sense of the word: thanks towater and to a system of pumps and coils, i semiconductor materials they are kept at an almost constant temperature, without the danger of polluting anything. In this way, agricultural land will be preserved, and no one will be able to complain about the visual impact on the landscape. It remains to be seen whether engineers will be able to build larger plants that can withstand wind and storms. The next challenge will be to test one in one reservoir of Israel. The power? 200 KW.
Roberto Zambon
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