Portuguese service organization EDP has recently become the largest floating solar park located in a reservoir in Europe, in Alqueva (south of the country), has the capacity to power 1,500 families. This technical and environmental progress made possible Thanks to a company based in Alicantededicated to the construction of such floating parks in many countries of the world.
With an investment of 6 million euros and a single connection to the grid, the solar park is the size of four football fields and approximately 12,000 panels photovoltaic.
Located in Western Europe’s largest reservoir, on the Guadiana River and close to the border with Extremadura, the platform was built in about six months and was placed at its final destination on the waters of the Alqueva last May. operation since then. The project has an installed power of 5 megawatts (MW) and a battery storage capacity of 2 megawatts per hour (MWh).
This hybrid between solar, hydro and battery power generating capacity of 7.5 gigawatts/hour (GWh) per year and accounts for 30% of the population of the surrounding region.
One of the innovations of this project compared to others is buoys, A blend of recycled plastic and cork compounds that provide a 16% reduction in carbon footprint.
EDP already has concrete plans for this: last year it won the right to install another 70 MW floating solar on Alqueva at an auction. It doesn’t stay here. We will grow to close to 70 MW,” said Stilwell d’Andrade, who acknowledged that when ready -EDP’s estimated 2025- it could be the largest in the world.
For the future, EDP is already considering developing this technology in other markets such as Spain or Asia. “Spain has yet to hold private auctions for floating solar, but the potential is there, so from a technical point of view this is entirely possible. Regulatory conditions need to be in place for this,” Stilwell said as the park opened.
Isigenere, the company from Alicante that made the miracle possible
The company that manufactures these panels isigenereheadquartered in Castalla (Alicante), and this is just one of many projects currently underway with reservoirs, lakes and other wetlands around the world. Juan Carlos Hernández, operations and project manager at Isigenere company, explains that the panels are made from recycled polystyrene plastic, thus ensuring the circularity of the project and avoiding the unnecessary removal of new materials.
The company takes orders from Asia, Africa and South America. increased demand of such photovoltaic installations.
You can reach the projects realized in places such as this company’s website. Kenya, Israel, Netherlands, Germany, Chile and also Spain. In our country floating solar parks are scattered with several.
The plate system is called floating and according to the company itself, it is “the highest quality, durability and cost-effective floating solar system in the world”.
Its unique and patented technology ensures that the water surface (bottoms and slopes) is partially or completely covered. It is used in ponds for irrigation or industrial use, reservoirs, hydroelectric or water treatment plants, mine lakes, etc. available.
Projects carried out by the company: https://www.isifloating.com/proyectos/
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Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]