Potential of floating photovoltaic system for energy generation and reduction of water evaporation at four different lakes in Rajasthan

Floating Photovoltaic systems (FPV) or floating solar photovoltaic power plants are gaining popularity and are now slowly being installed on large scale. FPV systems provides green energy with conservation of water and land simultaneously. Such a system can help resolve energy, land, and water crisis of a state like Rajasthan, India. The feasibility study of installing FPV system at Ana Sagar lake (Ajmer), Kaylana lake (Jodhpur), Kishore Sagar lake (Kota), and Man Sagar lake (Jaipur) are presented in this paper. The AC energy produced by FPV system, by covering 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of lake's area are calculated for each of the lakes using RETScreen Expert software. Estimated savings in water by reduction in evaporation due to FPV are calculated by using five different empirical relations for each case of 5% to 20% area coverage for all the four lakes. The potential of FPV system is highest for Man Sagar lake (Jaipur) followed by Kaylana lake (Jodhpur), Ana Sagar lake (Ajmer), and least for Kishore Sagar lake (Kota).