Session: 09-04-01 Hybrids & Floating Solar Energy

Paper Number: 78762

78762 - Wind Parameters Effects on Floating Solar Array Design – Case Study: Japan's Largest Floating Solar Array 

Floating solar is one of the newest renewable energy technologies in the journey towards a zero-carbon world. As it is floating, it has massive advantages over ground-mounted ones such as: freeing up space on precious land, an efficient cooling system using ambient water, preventing evaporation in reservoirs. This nascent industry, however, is facing formidable challenges that distinguish floating solar from other marine systems. Among them are the wind parameters and wind/wave interaction effects that strongly challenge the design and analysis of the floating solar arrays. Having a broad area exposed to the wind in presence of the incident wave regime, the floating solar system is highly affected by the wind parameters and wind/wave interaction. Furthermore, the floating solar panels are operating within the boundary layer of the wind flow close to the water free surface, where the laminar sub layer predominates mainly. In other words, the wind loads and wind/wave interaction play crucial roles in the design of floating solar panels, nevertheless, there is rather short research, rules, and regulations associated with this emerging technology. This study is aimed at establishing an analytical method to correlate wind parameters with floating solar system design. Hence, wind parameters such as speed, direction, load, turbulence, frequency, and period are identified to evaluate their impacts on the response of the floating solar panel under waves analytically. Finally, some suggestions are stated for the design of floating solar structures based on the analytical assessment. Kyocera’s 13.7 MW floating project, Japan’s largest floating solar array that was damaged after Typhoon Faxai, is examined as a case study, and some suggestions on the main reasons behind this major incident are outlined.

Presenting Author: Amir Honaryar Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE)

Authors:

Amir Honaryar Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE)
Madjid Karimirad Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE)
Arash Abbasnia Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE)
Trevor Whittaker Queen's University Belfast