Techno-economic potential and perspectives of floating photovoltaics in Europe

In floating photovoltaics, modules are mounted on or above water surfaces in order to limit the land occupancy, an issue arising with the growing deployment of photovoltaics. The floating structures are also expected to lower the capital expenditures required by traditional in-land systems, thanks to the lack of major site preparation needs and to the hybridization with hydropower plants. This work estimates the yield potential and the cost effectiveness of floating photovoltaics across suitable water bodies in Europe compared to optimally tilted land-based photovoltaics. Energy and economic outputs are modelled using referenced models, field-measured parameters and considering weather and economic conditions specific to each location and each country. The results show that, despite the lower tilts, floating photovoltaics with improved heat transfer capabilities can achieve energy yields up to 2 % greater than land-based photovoltaics. This is especially true in the Mediterranean region, where the average position of the Sun and the temperatures are higher. However, in some configurations, floating photovoltaics might not achieve lower temperatures than land-based photovoltaics, leading to lower energy yields. Despite that, it is found that, even when underperforming, floating photovoltaics can be cost competitive with land-based photovoltaics if the installation costs are reduced by less than 12 %. Last, this study estimates that each additional degree of tilt angle in floating photovoltaic installations is worth between 2.5 and 7.5 €/kW.