Open AccessFeasibility study of floating solar panels over lakes in Bengaluru City, India
Author(s) -
V Yashas,
Bagrecha Aman,
S Dhanush
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the institution of civil engineers. smart infrastructure and construction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2397-8759
DOI - 10.1680/jsmic.21.00002a
Subject(s) - photovoltaic system , solar energy , environmental science , sustainable energy , renewable energy , solar power , environmental engineering , environmental protection , engineering , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering
Sustainable energy production has become an issue of prime concern for regions across the globe. With all the global bodies urging nations to explore and adopt clean sources of energy, India’s enormous solar potential provides a sustainable source of energy, replacing conventional sources that are both polluting and rapidly depleting. To produce large amounts of solar energy, solar parks spanning across large areas are required, making it impossible to serve in highly populated cities like Bengaluru, where spacious lands are not available. The rooftop solutions contribute very minimally towards the city’s energy demand because of the dense urban cover and congested planning. But the city has a large number of water bodies including tanks, large lakes and reservoirs. This paper studies the floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) technology to provide an alternative solar route to harness sustainable energy. In this study, 32 lakes within the city limits were considered spanning across 3294 ac of lake area and analysed for the climatic suitability of FSPV systems, solar output assessment and estimation of evaporation losses. The study found that the FSPV systems adopted on lakes with a coverage ratio of 0.5–0.6 could meet an average of 26% of the city’s annual power demand.