Chemitek Solar, a Portuguese manufacturer of cleaning solutions for the PV industry, said two of its new products have passed ecotoxicity tests for their use on floating PV installations (FPV). It claimed that Solar Wash Protect (SWP) and Water Softening Agent (WSA) are both safe for vegetation and animals living around floating plants.
“The research shows that the SWP only needs a water column under the modules with a depth of 6 cm (2.36 inches) to fall below the safety threshold. The WSA results indicate that there is a need for an even lower water column of only 1 mm (0.04 inches),” the company said in a statement. “FPV installations have on average a water column under the modules of more than 1 meter (3.28 feet), which is well above the requirements of the study.”
Chemitek Solar said WSA captures the mineral ions in hard water to prevent the appearance of hard water stains and stains after cleaning. The SWP product, on the other hand, is designed to remove organic dirt – such as bird droppings – and applies an anti-static anti-pollution layer to the modules.
“The maintenance of FPV installations is often very challenging due to the presence of birds,” the company said. “They use the modules as a safe haven from most predators and also as a heat source. Their presence leads to constant contamination with bird droppings, which is difficult to clean with water alone.”
The Portuguese laboratory Center for Waste Valorization (CVR) has certified the products as safe for use with FPV arrays. The non-profit research institute focuses on waste management and environmental protection.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
