The first floating solar park in the Swiss Alps has paid for itself in just 2.8 years. Thanks to the altitude

• Solar panels of the Lac des Tools, a reservoir 1,810 meters above sea level

• Switzerland’s first floating photovoltaic system quickly recovers its energy investment

It has become common to install floating solar panels in irrigation canals and reservoirs to produce energy as well as prevent water evaporation in times of drought.

There is no shortage of water in the Swiss Alps at the moment. But they found an interesting reason to install floating photovoltaic cells.

high peak solar panels

In 2019, the Swiss company Romande Energy installed a 448 kW floating solar park on Lac des Tools, the first installation of its kind located on a reservoir 1,810 meters above sea level.

With a total of 35 platforms covered with bifacial solar panels, these platforms occupy only 2% of the lake surface and are anchored to the bottom during the warmer months, while the rest of the year they rest on the floor of the reservoir.

Amortization over 2.8 years

A team from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences has analysed floating lake installations. They found that due to the high irradiance the small solar park recovers the energy investment in just 2.8 years.

The study evaluated the environmental impact of the system from the extraction of raw materials to the end of its useful life. The researchers compared this high-mountain installation to a floating system located at lower altitudes, as well as to terrestrial installations.

The results show that the carbon footprint of the Alpine Floating System is around 94 g CO2-eq per kWh of generated electricity, which is significantly lower than conventional solar installations.

Despite this demonstrated efficiency, the researchers conclude that there is still scope to reduce the environmental impact and costs associated with these systems, for example by reducing the use of aluminium to make them more durable.

Image | Romande Energy

In Xataka | First India did it, now the United States is covering its irrigation canals with millions of solar panels