Skip to main content
Book cover

Intelligent Manufacturing and Energy Sustainability pp 329–338Cite as

Floating Photovoltaic Thin Film Technology—A Review

Part of the Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies book series (SIST,volume 169)

Abstract

The fast depletion of fossil fuels and the associated environmental problems increased the demand for an alternate energy source. One such promising renewable energy technology is the solar energy, with a common application of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Conventional PV system faces the serious disadvantage of occupying vast land resources for installation in megawatt scale. Thus, the novel concept of floating photovoltaic (FPV) technology is developed by accounting the value of land in agriculture and urban sites. The electrical yield in FPV-based system is comparatively due to the cooling effect from water which prevents overheating of solar panels. Out of several energy extracting technologies available in FPV systems, thin film technology is found to be highly efficient. It can also be seen as a propitious technology for future large-scale FPV systems. This paper presents a detailed review of thin film technology adopted in the FPV system.

Keywords

  • Floating photovoltaic
  • Solar energy
  • Thin film
  • Efficiency
  • Offshore

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-1616-0_32
  • Chapter length: 10 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-981-15-1616-0
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   379.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

  1. Trapani, K., Redón Santafé, M.: A review of floating photovoltaic installations: 2007–2013. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 23(4), 524–532 (2015)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  2. Trapani, K.: Flexible floating thin film photovoltaic (PV) array concept for marine and lacustrine environments. Doctoral dissertation, Laurentian University of Sudbury (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Trapani, K., Millar, D.L.: The thin film flexible floating PV (T3F-PV) array: the concept and development of the prototype. Renew. Energy 71, 43–50 (2014)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  4. Trapani, K., Millar, D.L., Smith, H.C.: Novel offshore application of photovoltaics in comparison to conventional marine renewable energy technologies. Renew. Energy 50, 879–888 (2013)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  5. Trapani, K., Millar, D.L.: Floating photovoltaic arrays to power the mining industry: a case study for the McFaulds lake (Ring of Fire). Env. Progr. Sustain. Energy 35(3), 898–905 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  6. Cazzaniga, R., Cicu, M., Rosa-Clot, M., Rosa-Clot, P., Tina, G.M., Ventura, C.: Floating photovoltaic plants: performance analysis and design solutions. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 81, 1730–1741 (2018)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  7. Liu, L., Wang, Q., Lin, H., Li, H., Sun, Q.: Power generation efficiency and prospects of floating photovoltaic systems. Energy Proc. 105, 1136–1142 (2017)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  8. Diendorfer, C., Haider, M., Lauermann, M.: Performance analysis of offshore solar power plants. Energy Proc. 49, 2462–2471 (2014)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  9. Sahu, A., Yadav, N., Sudhakar, K.: Floating photovoltaic power plant: a review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 66, 815–824 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  10. Lee, Y.G., Joo, H.J., Yoon, S.J.: Design and installation of floating type photovoltaic energy generation system using FRP members. Sol. Energy 108, 13–27 (2014)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  11. Ciel & Yerre: The floating solar expert, www.ciel-et-terre.net/essential_grid/floating-solar-plant-kato-shi/

  12. Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore, www.nanalyze.com/2019/02/floating-solar-farms/

  13. Floating solar market, www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news

  14. Cazzaniga, R., Rosa-Clot, M., Rosa-Clot, P., Tina, G.M.: Floating tracking cooling concentrating (FTCC) systems. In: 2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 000514–000519. IEEE (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kougias, I., Szabó, S., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Huld, T., Bódis, K.: A methodology for optimization of the complementarity between small-hydropower plants and solar PV systems. Renew. Energy 87, 1023–1030 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  16. Thin film solar panels do they make sense for residential? www.news.energysage.com/thin-film-solar-panels-make-sense

  17. Lee, T.D., Ebong, A.U.: A review of thin film solar cell technologies and challenges. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 70, 1286–1297 (2017)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  18. Thin film solar panels do they make sense for residential? Online. Available https://news.energysage.com/thin-film-solar-panels-make-sense/

  19. Powalla, M., Paetel, S., Hariskos, D., Wuerz, R., Kessler, F., Lechner, P., Friedlmeier, T.M.: Advances in cost-efficient thin-film photovoltaics based on Cu (In, Ga) Se2. Engineering 3(4), 445–451 (2017)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  20. Parisi, A., Pernice, R., Rocca, V., Curcio, L., Stivala, S., Cino, A.C., Busacca, A.C.: Graded carrier concentration absorber profile for high efficiency CIGS solar cells. Int J Photoenergy (2015)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, India

    R. Nagananthini

  2. Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, Univeristy of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    R. Nagavinothini

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, M Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur, India

    P. Balamurugan

Authors
  1. R. Nagananthini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Nagavinothini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. Balamurugan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Nagavinothini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malla Reddy College of Engineering & Technology, Secunderabad, Telangana, India

    Dr. A.N.R. Reddy

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Dr. Deepak Marla

  3. School of Aerospace, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora East Campus, Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Dr. Milan Simic

  4. Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    Dr. Margarita N. Favorskaya

  5. School of Computer Engineering, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Dr. Suresh Chandra Satapathy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this paper

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Nagananthini, R., Nagavinothini, R., Balamurugan, P. (2020). Floating Photovoltaic Thin Film Technology—A Review. In: Reddy, A., Marla, D., Simic, M., Favorskaya, M., Satapathy, S. (eds) Intelligent Manufacturing and Energy Sustainability. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 169. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1616-0_32

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1616-0_32

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-1615-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-1616-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)