A review of floating PV systems with a techno-economic analysis

This article reviews floating photovoltaics, mainly on techno-economical, environmental, and O&M issues. Floating PV is a promising technology that is expected to establish a new global market in the near future. Recent years have seen the deployment of an increasing power that exceeded 3 GWp worldwide in 2021, and market analysts expect it will reach 4.8 GWp in 2026. The projected growth rate suggests that this technology is a promising complement to utility-scale land-mounted PV systems, mainly because it reduces or eliminates need for new land, reduces water evaporation from reservoirs, and can increase energy yield when compared with ground-mounted systems with similar fixed tilt. Despite its potential advantages, however, floating PV is more expensive than well-established rooftop and ground-mounted PV installations. Literature results showed that the CAPEX costs are around 20%–30% and the LCOE around 30% higher than ground-mounted systems. The present article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art of floating PV, and describes the benefits and main drawbacks. We collected data from various sources available in the literature, ranging from evaluation studies to technical reports. Our review includes a special emphasis on the benefits and limitations of unmanned technologies used for maintenance purposes. Finally, we presented a cost breakdown comparison between the floating PV and ground-mounted PV, and combined information extracted from the literature with a case study in Italy.