Integration of Floating Solar PV (FSPV) with Proposed Hydroelectric Project: Technical Analysis of Taunsa Barrage for FSPV in South Punjab, Pakistan

The evident increase in energy demand and the utilization of rapidly depleting fossil fuels are causing serious environmental impacts. To mitigate these effects Renewable energy production is the only way out and solar energy is promising to be a more and more reliable energy source than ever before. In solar technology, Floating solar PV (FSPV) is being proposed as a suitable alternative with several advantages other than the preservation of land and water resources. In this study, we analyzed the combined hydro and FSPV at Taunsa Barrage, Pakistan where a low head hydropower project is recently proposed. Our study shows that the combination of the proposed FSPV system could provide a considerable amount of electrical energy in conjunction with hydroelectric energy by utilizing the existing structure (transmission and distribution network) of the hydropower project. Moreover, we can produce about 10% more electrical energy through FSPV as compared to the land-based Solar system. FSPV in the study performed in this paper is capable of producing up to 94MW of Electrical Energy which proves its importance and utility in mitigating the energy deficiency in Pakistan.