Floating PV; an assessment of water quality

and evaporation reduction in semi-arid

regions
..............................................................................................................................................................

Qasem Abdelal, *
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Natural Resources
Management, German Jordanian University, Amman 11180, Jordan
.............................................................................................................................................

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Abstract
This work addresses the potential impact on water quality and quantifies the benefit of the low carbon power
source of floating solar panels in evaporation reduction when using them on an open water body, such as
an agricultural irrigation pond in semi-arid regions. By utilizing agricultural ponds for low carbon energy
conversion, and saving precious water through evaporation reduction, the highly vulnerable agricultural
sector will be empowered. A pilot size setup is prepared, key water quality parameters were monitored and
evaporation quantities in a PV-covered pond are compared to those from an adjacent open water pond used
as a control. Several inclination angles for the panels were tested. Results showed no adverse impact on
the water quality; on the contrary, there is evidence of improvement particularly in nitrate and chlorophyll
concentrations. Moreover, a reduction of ∼60% in evaporation was observed; power generation from the
floating panels, on the other hand, was statistically similar to that from ground-mounted panels.

Keywords: floating solar panels; low carbon energy; irrigation ponds; evaporation; arid regions

*Corresponding author: Received 25 August 2020; revised 2 November 2020; editorial decision 3 January 2021; accepted 3 January
[email protected] 2021
.................................................................................................................................................................................

1. INTRODUCTION ing a proportion of the incoming solar radiation, they act as

a physical barrier to the passage of water vapor. These float-
Water-quality parameters of relevance vary depending on the type ing covers need to be moored by some anchoring mechanism
of use for the water. Requirements for drinking water are more [6].
stringent than those for irrigation water for example. For surface Despite their occasional use, floating water covers were usually
water, that is primarily used for irrigation, or for drinking after implemented empirically without comprehensive solid theoretical
further treatment, the main parameters of concern involve pH, analysis of their benefit and the optimized conditions of their
total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, nutrients (nitrogen operation. The study by Aminzadeh et al. [7] addresses the float-
and phosphorous compounds) and chlorophyll-a (chl-a). If some ing element properties, the climate and reservoir conditions to
or all of the previous parameters cannot be measured, then some better assess the evaporation losses and heat balance in the open
surrogate parameters can be measured and these would give a water bodies.
generally good idea of the quality of water, a well-known example Some studies involve analysis of the theory behind the evapora-
of these parameters is the dissolved oxygen [1]. Covering the tion reduction and quantification by modeling energy balances for
open water bodies (reservoirs, lakes, irrigation ponds) can have fully and partially covered water bodies. Evaporation reduction
an impact on the quality of the water. This impact has been percentages were reported as high as 80% in lab experiments [7].
qualitatively addressed in a few studies [2], [3], [4], [5]. The [8] demonstrated the added economic value to using transparent
following paragraphs establish some background information on partial covers to solar ponds, and analysis also involved quantifi-
the different aspects of the study; the last paragraph summarizes cation of evaporation suppression. Different materials have been
the research contribution of this study. used for coverage of water bodies ranging from modular plastic
Floating water covers have been historically used for several disks to spheres to palm fronds [9, 10]. Several published studies
purposes, one of which is evaporation reduction. These can be and reports address the different technologies used to cover water
modular and flat covers floating on the water surface. By reflect- bodies [6–16].
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2021, 16, 732–739
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial
re-use, please contact [email protected]
https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctab001 Advance Access publication 22 January 2021 732
 Floating PV

Among the many options for covering open surface water likely to occur. They also anticipated that the reduction of the
bodies are floating photovoltaic (PV) panels. These have been oxygen transfer due to the presence of coverage at the lake surface
gaining attention lately due to their numerous advantages, includ- would result in lower overall water quality. Another drawback
ing reducing evaporation, conserving precious land, especially in is related to the discontinuity of the power generation due to
agricultural settings, and potentially better energy yield due to fluctuation of sun radiation as outlined by [21]. Their proposed
fewer obstacles to sunlight and lower panel temperature. Some solution to that is oversizing the PV and then dynamically curtail-
additional water quality improvements are also mentioned [5], ing the output. While counter intuitive, this approach is claimed
[4], [17]. to reduce the overall cost of the system of PV and storage despite
PVs are particularly desirable as one of the technologies most the extra cost of the oversized PVs. One of the existing concerns
suitable to minimize greenhouse gas emission and mitigate global of the investment in floating PV systems is the lack of long enough
warming [4]. Researchers have identified five types of installations experience to properly assess the degradation of the system, this
for PVs, ground mounted, canal top, roof top, offshore and float- technology is rather young and there is not enough data to identify
ing, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages [5]. The long-term effects [17].
floating system consists of several components; a floating system Regions of semi-arid to arid environments experience high

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that is buoyant and allows the installation of the PV module, a evaporation rates, thus the need for minimizing evaporation rates
mooring system to anchor the floaters and maintain their orien- while maintaining proper water quality. Many of these regions
tation, some underwater cables and the PV system consisting of also experience high solar radiation values; an example is the
the panels, controllers, inverter and a distribution line. [4]. The Jordan valley, close to where this study was conducted. The
floaters come in all shapes and sizes and many of their designs are reported solar radiation in the Jordan valley ranges between 5000
patented [18], [4]. to 5600 Wh/m2 /day [27]. These attractive rates of solar radiation
Operational conditions for ground installations are different make the installation of the low carbon floating solar panels even
from floating PV installations as reported by [17]. This clearly more appealing.
has an impact on the performance of the system and its over- Limited studies quantitatively addressed the water quality
all efficiency. For example, ambient air temperature have been impact by the shielding effect of the floating solar panels. Similarly,
reported to be less by 1–3◦ C above the water body than it is on evaporation reduction has been qualitatively addressed in some
ground installations. Wind speed has been observed to be higher studies but very few quantify it particularly in semi-arid regions,
in open water bodies and thus could potentially reduce the panels’ where its impact is expected to be higher. These two aspects are
temperature and increase their efficiency. important especially in inland fresh water resources, where water
Floating PV technology and applications are fast developing. is more prone to water quality deterioration due to its low salinity,
Several large and medium size projects are operational already and where water is scarce and thus expensive. This research fills
and are producing MW-scale electrical generation [19]. Several that gap by systematically and quantitatively investigating the
studies address the introduction of the floating PV panels quality of fresh water as it is covered by the floating solar panels,
to supplement other power generation technologies, such as and by investigating the reduction of evaporation rates due to the
hydropower [2], and some investigate their use as a solar heating shading effect and quantifying its value. This work provides an
system [20]. intermediate step, in which a pilot size setup was used. The next
A study by [21] argues that the floating solar panels are very steps would involve testing the effect of the floating solar panels
efficient power source that could be sufficient to secure the needs on a full scale agricultural irrigation pond.
of the United States. According to their research, that is achievable
if 128 of the hydroelectric power generating lakes are equipped
with floating PV systems. The study was based on a 24% module 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS OF
efficiency, which is the current state of the technology. It is argued
that this efficiency level is even conservative relative to the fast
ANALYSIS
pace of development. Another study on the state of Ceara in Brazil
Several methods exist for evaporation quantification: water bud-
concluded that as high as 18.8% of the electrical needs of the state
get method, mass transfer method, energy budget method, pan
of 8.8 million inhabitants can be met by installation of cooled
evaporation and combined methods. Perhaps the most used of
floating solar panels, which were also found to yield 12.5% more
the combined method is the Penman equation [28], [29], which
than their ground-mounted counterparts [22]. The floating PV
relates evaporation to net radiation absorbed by the water body,
applications are attracting the attention of countries all over the
wind speed, vapor pressure values and a number of other factor.
world, from Bangladesh to Australia to South Africa [23–26].
The following equations represent the core of the method:
Some of the drawbacks that are typically discussed with respect
to floating PV technology are associated with aesthetic considera-  γ
tions, reduction of accessibility and recreational availability of the EρLe = QN + Ea (1)
+γ +γ
lakes and water bodies and some concerns on water-quality issues
that may have a negative impact on the ecosystem [6]. Reported
that once sunlight is blocked, damage to primary producers is Le = 597.3 − 0.57 T (2)

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2021, 16, 732–739 733

Q. Abdelal

des 2.748 × 108 4278.6 function of the latitude of the site ∅ (radians) and the number of
= = × e− T+242.79 (3) daylight hours (N)
dT (T + 242.79) 2

0.66P RA≈ 3Nsin (0.131N − 0.95∅) (8)

γ = (4)
1000
Ea = ρLe (a + bu) (esa − ea ) (5) Given that very few studies address that evaporation process in
a floating PV system, this study utilizes a pilot scale test to quantify
4278.6
esa = 2.789 × 108 × e− T+242.79 (6) evaporation and monitor water quality. Figure 1 shows the system
that was prepared to study the impact of the floating solar panel
Where: on the water quality and to evaluate the evaporation reduction
E: Evaporation (cm), ρ: Density, Le: Latent heat of vapor- potential. The pilot experiment was set at the German Jordanian
ization (J/kg), T: Temperature ◦ C, : the slope of the es Vs University premises in Amman, Jordan.
T curve (mb/o C), γ : Psychometric Constant (mb/o C), QN : net Two tanks (2 m × 2 m × 1 m each) were fabricated from 2-
radiation absorbed (Energy/area-time), Ea has units of energy mm galvanized steel. Once placed in the ground, they were lined

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flux (Energy/area-time), a,b: empirical constants, u: Wind speed with black plastic polyethylene sheets similar to those used to line
(m/s), esa : Saturation vapor pressure at temperature of the air agricultural earth ponds. The two tanks protruded ∼20 cm above
(mb), ea : Actual vapor pressure in air = Relative humidity X the ground surface. During the experiments, one of the two tanks
esa. (mb). was kept exposed (control) while the other was covered with the
As it can be seen, the Penman equation has the advantage floating PV structure.
of being physically based and that the water and soil surface Two floating PV panels were used (2 m × 1 m each). One of
temperature need not be known. It has the disadvantage, though, the panels was monocrystalline with a power rating of 365 W,
of requiring net radiation absorbed and the vapor pressure deficit. while the other was polycrystalline with a power rating of 325 W;
These parameters, while measurable, require expensive instru- the choice of the two different types was to compare their energy
ments not readily available in common weather stations. yield performance. These panels were mounted on an aluminum
Several attempts were made to simplify evaporation assess- structure that was designed to allow for different angles of incli-
ment using readily available weather data. The work by John D. nation. The aluminum structure was fixed on floaters made of 10-
Valiantzas [30] is a perfect example of a developed simplified for- inch PVC pipes connected in full square shape with 196 cm side.
mula for the Penman evaporation equation using routine weather Design calculations suggested that this pipe size pipe will be able
data. In this developed method, only data on air temperature, to carry the dead load of the aluminum and the floating PVs while
solar radiation, relative humidity and wind velocity need to be still floating. An identical structure of two panels was ground
measured. The rest of the needed parameters are site specific mounted; this was used to do a comparison of the performance
and are easily obtainable. This method was tested and verified of the two systems (floating and ground mounted).
to provide very accurate resemblance to the standard Penman Water was supplied for two experiments from two different
method [30]. sources; the first was a ground water source in Jordan (Hesban
The following equation (Equation 7) is the simplified evap- Wells, Madaba), this was tested for ∼6 weeks, the other was a
oration equation developed by Valiantzas [30]; it is presented surface water source (Mujeb dam), for which the majority of
here followed by the explanation of all the terms. This equation measurements were made. Water quality was monitored for the
relies on simple data typically measured using standard weather two tanks to assess the impact of the water coverage via the
monitoring station or obtained based on geographic location. solar panels on the quality of water. Water sampling was done
by grab samples collected on a weekly basis and analyzed in a
 2
√ Rs certified lab for the parameters of ortho-phosphate (using the
EPEN ≈ 0.051 (1 − α) Rs T + 9.5 − 2.4 method Stannous Chloride SM:4500-PD), nitrate as NO3 (using
RA
  the method ion chromotographic SM 4110 B) and chl-a (using the
RH method flurometric determination). These parameters are among
+ 0.052 (T + 20) 1 − (au − 0.38 + 0.54u) (7)
100 the most important indicators of surface water quality, nitrogen
and phosphorous are important nutrients known to cause algae
Where: growth, a very common water quality concern in open water
α is reflection coefficient of Albedo (0.08 for open water sur- bodies. Chlorophyll-a is also an indicator of the eutrophication
faces), Rs is solar radiation (Mj/m2 .d), RA is extraterrestrial solar state of the water body. Water temperature at various depths
radiation (Mj/m2 .d), T is temperature (◦ C), RH is relative humid- was also monitored at each of the two ponds. The two sources
ity (%), au = Penman coefficient = 1 when using the original of water described earlier were chosen to evaluate the impact
Penman equation, u is the wind velocity (m). of the initial water characteristics on the water quality changes
RA can be evaluated using one of two equations, each valid for due to the placement of the floating PV panels. Samples from
specific latitude values. Equation 8 shows the term to evaluate RA the first water source were analyzed weekly between 19 August
for the region in which the study lays. As shown, the RA value is a 2018 and 24 September 2018, while those from the second source

734 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2021, 16, 732–739

 Floating PV

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Figure 1. Pilot test setup with two tanks; control and covered with the floating PV panels.

were analyzed weekly between 30 September 2018 and 6 Novem-

ber 2018. Samples were collected according to proper sampling
procedure and were analyzed at the labs of the Water Authority
of Jordan.
An Ambient Weather® weather station (model WS2902) was
installed onsite to accurately and continuously record the mete-
orological data during the measurement process. Water elevation
was automatically monitored by a system of measurement and
data logging. The system consisted of a locally developed data
logger and two ultrasonic sensors to measure depth to water, in
addition to a set of six submerged water temperature sensors,
three in each tank, to measure the water temperature at various
depths, further details on the data logging system can be found
at [31]. This monitoring system had an additional ambient air
temperature and humidity sensor. Figure 2 shows the different
electronic components/sensors that were used in home developed
data collection system and data logger. The developed data col-
lection system was composed of ultrasonic sensors for accurate Figure 2. Components used for distance and temperature measurement and data
and continuous distance measurements and temperature sensors logger.
to measure the water temperature at different depts.
Evaporation monitoring involved daily measurement of the
water level. That was done manually and automatically and the next angle was 27 degrees (within the optimal range of this region)
results of the two were compared. Manual measurements were and the third one was 42 degrees. The choice of the angles was
done by measuring the depth to water from the edge of the tank also governed by the capacity of the holding aluminum structure.
while the automatic measurements spanned longer (∼9 months During this investigation, the structure was set at each angle
total) and were done using the locally developed ultrasonic mon- for a week and the cumulative evaporation and average ambient
itoring system. temperatures were reported.
Different inclination angles for the solar panel were investi- Majority of the tests results are displayed by showing a com-
gated. The lowest angle was zero degrees resembling a flat panel parison between the performance of the control pond and the
laying horizontally over the water and providing full coverage, the PV-covered pond. Time series graphs of the results of the two

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2021, 16, 732–739 735

Q. Abdelal

Figure 4. Nitrate as NO3 concentration for the control and PV-covered systems
Figure 3. I-V curves for the four panels. from two water sources.

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setups were created, and standard statistical tests were made when
necessary (t-test, F-test, etc.).
Theoretical evaluation of the evaporation was done using the
simplified version of the Penman method (equations 7 and 8
shown earlier). The most needed input parameters were meteoro-
logical data that were obtained from the on-site weather station.
Theoretical evaluation of evaporation was done, and the results
were compared to observed evaporation values.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 5. Chlorophyll-a concentration for the control and PV-covered systems
The energy yield of each of four panels was recorded at different
from two water sources.
loads. Experimental outcomes indicate a slight advantage of the
floating system power generation over the land mounted one; that
advantage cannot be statistically verified given the collected data. concentration is attributed to the blockage of the direct sun by the
Figure 3 shows the IV curve for the four panels. It is observed that floating panels, where sunshine is important for algae growth, a
the monocrystalline panels outperform the polycrystalline ones, major contributor to chl-a. Nitrate concentrations where higher in
which is expected given the power rating of each (365 W for the the water from Husban wells compared to that from Mujeb dam.
mono Vs. 325 W for the poly). The floating monocrystalline panel The control system showed a slight increase with time relative
generally produced the highest current relative to the others, the the PV-covered one in the water from Husban wells concentra-
floating polycrystalline one did not follow the same trend; the tion (yet not statistically verifiable). The higher concentration
land-mounted panel outperformed it. These variations are too of nitrate in the ground water could potentially be attributed to
small to be statistically significant and may be attributed to the contamination due to agricultural activities, since most of the area
individual panels yield characteristics. surrounding the well is agricultural, it may be also attributed to
Water quality analysis for the two water ponds from two differ- leaking septic tanks. Ortho-phosphate concentrations are mostly
ent sources was done. One of the most visible symptoms of surface below the detection limit of 0.06 mg/l. Such values are reported at
water pollution is eutrophication, which results from excessive 0.06 mg/l. Figures 4–6 show the results of the water quality testing.
presence of nutrients. An important indicator of eutrophication As a conclusion, it can be observed that the PV coverage of the
potential is chl-a, in addition to basic nutrients, such as nitrate water body did not have a degrading effect on the water quality;
and ortho-phosphate. Results of this study show no deterioration on the contrary, it may be credited with limiting chl-a and nitrate
in the water quality due to the presence of the floating PV panels. concentrations.
In fact, there is evidence of improved performance of the PV- Evaporation monitoring tests were conducted over a duration
covered pond relative to the control one, especially for chl-a of ∼9 months at a panel inclination angle of 27 degrees, a full
test of the Husban ground water in the control pond, where an range of temperatures were experienced throughout. Figure 7
increase in the concentration of chl-a from below detection up to shows the maximum daily ambient temperature (left). Temper-
∼22 μg/l. Water in the PV-covered system did not show noticeable ature range throughout the year was between 10◦ C and 40◦ C,
increase in the concentration. Mujeb surface water source on the which is typical in the experiment region.
other hand showed a systematic reduction of the concentration As expected, shading with the floating PV panels resulted in
of chl-a for both floating and control systems. Reduction in chl-a a reduced overall temperature of the water as shown in Figure 7

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 Floating PV

some indirect sunlight and wind to reach the water surface, hence
the potentially higher evaporation.
Increased evaporation rates have positive correlation with
higher temperatures and inverse proportionality to higher
humidity. Table 1 lists the correlation formulas between the
evaporation in the two ponds as a function of both temperature
and humidity along with the calculated coefficient of deter-
mination. The relations show good correlation between the
average evaporation and the 7-day average temperature with a
coefficient of determination ranging between 0.6 and 0.8, while
the correlation was not as good for the humidity (0.3–0.5). This is
attributed the high fluctuations in humidity with time of the day,
Figure 6. Orthophosphate concentration for the control and PV-covered systems unlike the temperature where the values are more consistent.
from two water sources.
Inclination angle analysis shows a visible trend of reduced

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evaporation the lower the PV-panel angle is; this observation is
rational due to the more limited exposure to the sun with a lower
(right). Statistical analysis of the top temperature (surface temper- inclination angle. This conclusion, however, cannot be statistically
ature) data indicated a significant proof at 5% confidence level (t- verified as there are no sufficient data points to merit a statistical
statistic = 6.5 relative to 1 tail t-critical = 1.6) that the control pond evaluation. Another point to consider here is the energy yield of
was warmer than the PV-covered pond. This is rational given the the different inclinations; this has not been fully studied for the
more exposure to solar radiation in the exposed control pond. purpose of this work and will be done in future studies. A tradeoff
The temperature variations with depth were analyzed for both must be made between the advantage of reduced evaporation and
the PV-covered pond and the control pond. The PV-covered pond the potential loss of energy yield the flatter the panel is. Figure 10
showed no statistical difference at 5% confidence level between shows the effect of the inclination angle on the reported average
the bottom and top temperature, while the control pond, exposed daily evaporation, keep in mind that inclination angle analysis
to direct sunlight, showed a statistically significant difference was done such that each setup was tested for a week. The results
between the bottom and top temperatures when tested using the shown here are different that those reported earlier of the whole
t-test for analysis of means, assuming un-equal variances (which 9 month test in which the inclination angle was fixed at 27 degrees
was also verified for the data). The t-statistic was 1.83, while the throughout the whole duration.
one-tail t-critical was 1.65. The higher value for t-statistic indi- Theoretical evaluation of the evaporation rate was made possi-
cates rejection of the null hypothesis of equal means. It is expected ble thanks to the abundance of the meteorological data available
that higher water temperatures will yield higher evaporation rates. at the site. Equations 7 and 8 presented earlier were used to
This is to be verified by analysis of the test results. evaluate evaporation from temperature, wind speed, solar radi-
Field tests demonstrated that the evaporation rates from the ation and relative humidity, all parameters are measured using
control pond are significantly higher (at 5% confidence level) than the on-site weather station. A good match was achieved between
those from the PV-covered ones. Figure 8 shows the time series of the observed and predicted daily evaporation values. Figure 11
the evaporation rates (mm) from the control pond and from the shows the observed evaporation rates plotted against the mea-
PV-covered pond after being corrected to account for the reduced sured evaporation rates with a 45 degree line. Data points are dis-
exposed surface area in the floating PV pond due to the floating tributed around the 45 degrees, indicating a good match between
structure. Gaps in the figure are due to the monitoring system the observed and predicted values. Developing the model for
failure for certain times mainly during extreme winter weather. theoretical calculation of evaporation is critical for future fea-
To quantitatively assess the increase in evaporation percentage sibility analysis studies of floating solar panels. The model was
in the exposed control pond relative to the PV-covered pond a successful in satisfactorily evaluating the evaporation quantities
histogram was generated. As can be seen in Figure 9, ∼80% of and therefore can be utilized in evaluating the added value due to
the reported evaporation increase was between 100% and 300%, power conversion and evaporation reduction for any project in a
which is another clear indication that the coverage of the ponds semi-arid area under similar conditions.
with the floating solar panels reduced the rate of evaporation.
The overall average daily evaporation from the control pond was
∼1.84 mm/day while that of the PV-covered pond was 0.76 mm/- 4. CONCLUSIONS
day, a reduction of the evaporation rate of 59%. Rates of evapo-
ration obviously change with season and ambient weather condi- Floating solar panels demonstrated higher power yield during
tions. Higher rates of evaporation were reported in a study by [7]. the majority of time; power produced by floating panels was
They reported a reduction of 80% in lab setting using flat coverage. higher than that produced by land mounted 55% of the time
The results reported before in our experiments were using a panel (on average) when measured under the same conditions. Water
angle of 27-degree with the water surface. This angle allowed for quality underneath the panels showed an improvement, especially

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Figure 7. Max daily air temperature (left) and water top temperature for control and PV-covered pond (right).

Table 1. Correlation equations between evaporation and temperature and humidity for both the control pond and the PV-covered pond.
Pond 7-day average temperature 7-day average humidity

Control Evap. (cm) = 0.0258 Temp (◦ C)—0.3527 Evap. (cm) = −0.0078 Humidity (%) + 0.7916
R 2 = 0.8 R 2 = 0.5
PV-covered Evap. (cm) = 0.0073 Temp (◦ C)—0.0732 Evap. (cm) = −0.0018 Humidity (%) + 0.2276
R 2 = 0.6 R 2 = 0.3

Figure 10. Angle effect on evaporation.

Figure 8. Cumulative evaporation for the control pond and the PV-covered pond.

Figure 11. Observed and measured evaporation plotted against each other with
a 45-degree line.
Figure 9. Histogram of evaporation increase percentage.

for chl-a concentrations, where limited exposure to direct sunlight system was 61%, the reduction in the surface water source was
tend to inhibit algae growth, for the groundwater source, the averaged at 17.5%. Nitrate concentrations decreased slightly in
average reduction of the concentration of Chl-a in the covered the floating system (up to 14% in the covered system), while the

738 International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies 2021, 16, 732–739

 Floating PV

orthophosphate did not show any noticeable change. In general, [10] Assouline S, Narkis K, Or D. Evaporation suppression from water
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