Mar 3 2011
A joint venture formed by the Israel-based Solaris Synergy and France-based EDF Group have released AQUASUN, a new range of solar panels that can be installed on the existing water reservoirs. The floating solar panels use silicon cells, which are cheaper than other varieties.
AQUASUN Solar Panels
However the major drawback of silicon cells is overheating, resulting in inefficiency. The overheating problem can be avoided by means of a cooling system that includes the water on which the panels are floating. It also features an array of mirrors to focus sun’s radiation on the solar panels. This option augments the efficiency of the silicon cells and also minimizes the number of panels required, resulting in further reduction of cost overhead. In addition, users could attach or detach panels as per the requirement and every modular panel could generate 200 kW of power.
Installation of AQUASUN system could be made only in the existing water bodies and not on the open sea or in environmentally-sensitive locations. Oxygen can pass through the panels, so that the water beneath the panels would not become static. In certain instances, the panels could help to bring down algae growth and evaporation.
An archetype of the system has been developed and will be displayed at the 4th International Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference, scheduled to be held in Israel. The developers are looking forward to installing the system at a hydro-electric plant’s basin situated in southeast France, during September 2011. The performance of the archetype will be tested for a period of nine months by subjecting it to several levels of water and different seasons. This analysis will enable them to obtain the required data to develop the solar system for commercial utilization.