Combining Floating PV Power Plant and Hydro Reservoir

The shift toward sustainable energy has generated significant interest in hybrid renewable energy systems that achieve highly desirable outcomes by maximizing resource utilization while minimizing environmental impacts. This paper considers the hybrid integration of Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) power plants with hydro reservoirs, particularly focusing on achieving higher total energy output by utilizing existing hydropower assets. Quite effective in regions with little land availability, FPV systems also create reductions in evaporation losses from the reservoir. When strategically hybridized with a hydropower system, the FPV system uses solar to meet the electricity demand during the day while the hydropower meets the peak load demand or when solar irradiance is limited, providing additional value to the efficiency of the plant while ensuring resilience in power generation across varied seasonal variations. Countries such as India, China, and Portugal have shown that this integration can be effective in increasing annual energy production, providing cost reductions, and achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions while providing more stable water levels in the reservoir and supporting a diverse aquatic habitat. Even with several examples of deployment, challenges still remain with deployment, including, but not limited to, the mooring design, structural durability of floating devices, grid integration potential, and the impacts on sedimentation within the reservoir. This study has identified and discussed both the opportunities and challenges in creating FPV-hydropower hybrid systems that are an efficient and economic solution to enhance clean energy generation.