Feasibility analysis of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Plant at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh: India

Due to the increase in electricity demand, fast depletion of fossil fuels, and global environmental concerns, installations of solar PV systems are increasing. The structure of solar photovoltaic systems requires vast land, which will always be a premium commodity. Installing solar PV systems on water bodies such as lakes, lagoons, oceans, and reservoirs can be an appealing option for conserving valuable land and water. Floating solar photovoltaic installations provide new opportunities for increasing solar generating capacity, particularly in countries with dense populations and competing uses for available land. In this paper, the performance of the P-V and I-V characteristics of the FSPV module for real-world meteorological data of the year 2020 is analyzed using MATLAB. Further, using PVSyst, the technical performance of the proposed 5MWp FSPV plant at Srisailam reservoir in A.P., India, was evaluated and compared with GSPV of the same rating. The results show that FSPV generates 4.8% of increased capacity and decreases 5.45% of more carbon emissions yearly than GSPV Plant. The proposed Floating solar PV saves 111.09 million liters of water from evaporation annually and gives better performance characteristics in real-time application than GSPV due to the cooling effect.