Research and Development

NREL report says floating photovoltaics are promising solution in southeast Asia

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NREL report says floating photovoltaics are promising solution in southeast Asia
(photo courtesy National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Floating photovoltaics, installed alone or in combination with hydropower plants, show potential for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report.

Countries are seeking innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions while meeting energy security and economic development needs. For countries with abundant solar resource potential and limited land availability, floating solar PV is a potential clean energy solution.

NREL researchers were funded by a partnership with the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Regional Development Mission for Asia. Enabling Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FPV) Deployment: FPV Technical Potential Assessment for Southeast Asia estimates the technical potential for the 10 ASEAN countries and is coupled with an FPV data set that is publicly accessible through the USAID-NREL Partnership’s Renewable Energy (RE) Data Explorer tool.

FPV arrays are situated on water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs or water treatment ponds, where they can be installed alone or in combination with hydropower facilities. This eliminates land use concerns and makes use of spaces that may otherwise go unused for energy generation. This is particularly of interest in cases where hydropower infrastructure is planned or already in place and increased frequency or severity of drought may raise concerns around electricity reliability, NREL said.

Such is true for Southeast Asia, a region with significant hydropower infrastructure yet concerns around energy security during periods of drought and water scarcity. Solar and hydropower are complementary energy resources, and FPV has the potential to firm up energy generation during periods of drought and low reservoir levels.

“One thing that is basically universally true of the region is that it has an established network of hydropower generation sites. FPV can support these sources as water levels fluctuate to ensure grid stability,” said Evan Rosenlieb, a geospatial data scientist at NREL who performed the resource and technical potential analysis for this project. “Additionally, much of the region is covered by rainforest ecosystems. Siting PV on water can be a way to increase renewable energy generation without deforestation.”

Furthermore, southeast Asia is exploring other water-based solutions such as aquaculture — a method of farming where aquatic creatures such as fish, crustaceans and others are raised on controlled water environments. Aquaculture sites present unique opportunities for FPV deployment and benefits.

“Along with its other co-benefits, FPV can play an important role in bolstering food security in Southeast Asia through incorporation with the region’s fast-growing aquaculture industry,” said Prateek Joshi, NREL energy engineer and lead author of the report. “This emerging combination of aquaculture and photovoltaics, commonly referred to as AquaPV, can allow countries to colocate energy and food production on existing natural or artificially created water bodies while minimizing the overall environmental impact of both sectors.”

Countries across southeast Asia have ambitious renewable energy generation goals. Together, ASEAN has set a target of 35% renewable energy installed power capacity by 2025, which has spurred these countries’ interests in aggressive and creative solutions, like FPV development.

Building off previous FPV studies, the NREL team used data on waterbodies, infrastructure and energy resources to determine which water bodies showed the highest potential for FPV development. They found that all the ASEAN countries have significant potential for FPV energy generation.

As these countries look ahead to begin developing FPV projects, data will be critical for their decision-making. To support developers, policymakers, and other regional stakeholders, the USAID and NREL teams made this technical potential data available through the RE Data Explorer tool.

This data set is the first FPV data to be added to RE Data Explorer, expanding access to the types of analyses Southeast Asian stakeholders can do to assess renewable energy generation.

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC.