Paradise will be more paradisiacal with the arrival of floating solar energy, a technology that the Spanish group will install in Fernando de Noronha, and which will supply half of the island's energy needs

With a photovoltaic panel valued at €2 million, the Spanish group Iberdrola will enter the floating solar energy circuit. The equipment will be built and installed on the island of Fernando de Noronha, more precisely in the waters of a volcanic archipelago, the Xaréu dam. Fernando de Noronha is considered the largest marine park and protected ecological sanctuary in Brazil, located about 350 km from the state of Pernambuco, to which it is administratively subordinate.

The project has bold goals. It intends to supply about half of the energy needs of the Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento, the compensates, supplier of water and sewage in Fernando de Noronha. The floating solar energy array to be installed has a capacity of 630 kWh, and construction should start by the end of 2023. It is one of the most paradisiacal UNESCO natural world heritage sites, which has carried out several initiatives to guarantee zero emission of pollutants in the environment. Iberdrola's first global project.

To change the face of the global energy system

That's the promise of floating photovoltaics. That is why the projects have spread across the planet very quickly, since it has an immense capacity for exploring water surfaces, especially in areas where building on land has the potential to promote environmental damage. According to the United States Department of Energy, in a study carried out in 2020, a study points out that all projects have the potential to meet almost 50% of the energy needs of the locations where photovoltaic panels are installed.

Breeders capable of survival in extremely inhospitable areas have also been developed, exploring reservoirs, lakes and other surfaces. In addition to ensuring clean energy, and taking advantage of transmission lines from sanitation companies to bring energy to cities, floating solar energy arrays also help in agriculture by pumping water, and also helps in reducing the evaporation rates of reservoirs, also contributing to reduce the proliferation of algae, due to shading areas.

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

In Brazil, there are several projects underway to supply floating solar energy, such as the Balbina hydroelectric plant, in Presidente Figueiredo, in the Amazon, which generates 250 MW of energy, but delivers less than half of this energy to the population, for account of the droughts in the region and the low levels of the reservoirs. Floating solar energy is certainly a solution to issues like this. 

It is also possible to list even more advantages of the floating solar energy system. It promotes the release of land, adding sustainability, as it prevents trees from being removed and deforestation from taking place. There is a reduction in evaporation and the achievement of energy efficiency, since the proximity to water cools the photovoltaic plate modules and ensures greater performance and more energy generation. Compared to the common system, which delivers 5% efficiency, the floating system delivers 15%. It also provides better tracking possibilities.

Among the main projects in operation in Brazil, we can mention the one in Rosana, in São Paulo, installed in 2013 at the Porto Primavera hydroelectric plant. There is also the Sobradinho hydroelectric plant, inaugurated in August 2019 in the semi-arid region, on the São Francisco River, the largest floating solar power plant installed in the country. Across the world, emphasis goes to projects installed in Asia and the United States, especially in China, the largest producer of floating solar energy on the entire planet.