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Paraná has just inaugurated the first floating photovoltaic solar plant in the southern region. The unit is close to the Santa Clara hydroelectric plant and can generate up to 100 kWp
The South region has just received its first floating photovoltaic solar plant, which is located in Paraná. The unit, which has already started operating, is part of the project coordinated by Lactec within the scope of Aneel's R&D Program, and is implemented between the municipalities of Pinhão and Candói, in the reservoir of the Santa Clara hydroelectric plant, which has a capacity of 120 MW. The floating solar plant in Paraná belongs to Elejor, Sociedade de Purito Específico (SPE), in which Copel is the majority shareholder.
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Photovoltaic solar plant in Paraná has 100 kWp of power
The first plant in Paraná is equipped with 276 solar panels, which are on top of a metallic structure capable of floating. In total, the panels offer a power of 100,7 kWp in an area of 1,1 m². The floating solar plant is connected to an electrocenter on the ground, which transforms the electric current from direct to alternating current, which is used to supply the electricity demand of the hydroelectric plant itself.
For Kleber Franke Portella, project coordinator for Lactec, the benefits of the floating solar plant compared to other onshore plants is that no investments are needed in adapting and acquiring the area, such as earthworks or vegetation cutting.
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Other favorable points for the offshore photovoltaic solar plant are security against theft and vandalism and also avoiding the use of an area that could be used for another purpose, such as agriculture, among others.
Challenges encountered during the deployment of the offshore solar plant
The National Energy Plan (PNE) 2050 states that the potential of this type of energy generation can reach 45,5 terawatt-hours/year. This power could supply 1% of Brazil's demand for about a year, based on the power that was used in 2020, of 474,2 TWh, according to information from EPE.
Paraná's floating solar power plant is about 250 meters from the shore, making this one of the main challenges encountered along the way of the project. The lake where the photovoltaic solar plant is located has variations of up to 20 meters in water level and the anchoring system had to be able to keep up with such fluctuations.
Understand the importance of the anchor system
For Kleber, the dynamic anchoring mechanism is essential for the project in Paraná to work perfectly, considering that variation is something that happens a lot in the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants.
According to the researcher, this is something that must be considered in an installation project for a photovoltaic solar plant of this type, both so that the integrity of the structures is preserved and so that a good energy generation performance is ensured.
The project was part of a comparison study, where different generation modules were used: one completely flat, one inclined and the other with a solar tracker. Modules with a solar tracker achieved the best performance, however there are other aspects that must be considered for their installation, such as the weight and energy consumption of the trackers.
