HeliosLite has developed new aluminum floats that can be assembled and deployed on site in a mini factory. This week it presented a prototype of a PV system based on the new floating technology in the south of France.
Enercoop Aura, Araymond and Helioslite jointly inaugurated the Coeur de Savoie floating solar power plant in France.
This 260 kW demonstrator features a new aluminum floating structure that minimizes the footprint on the water while minimizing material needs. The floats and anchors were assembled on site using a mobile micro-factory.
Helioslite, a French startup known for innovative solar trackers, developed the concept three years ago in collaboration with Araymond. The HeliosFloat technology, now protected by an international patent, is commercialized under an 11-year exclusive licensing agreement with Araymond.
“The principle is to manufacture the aluminum floats on site using a mobile micro-factory, reducing the impact of transportation,” says Quentin Rabut, director of the floating PV business line in Araymond. pv magazine France.
The compact aluminum coils are transported to site for transformation, minimizing “transport of air” and reducing on-site storage needs. In addition, manufacturing the float tubes on site reduces the footprint along the bank during the construction phase.
“This is a floating structure made of non-combustible aluminum that is more than 94% recyclable,” said Rabut. “The tailor-made approach makes it a modular solution that allows the size of the panels and the tilt angles to be varied “and thus adapted to the location to achieve the highest possible energy density.”
The infrastructure minimizes the water footprint to navigable paths rather than pedestrian routes for maintenance. “This structure is less opaque and should have less impact on the aquatic environment,” says Emilien Boucher, coordinator of Enercoop Aura Production Services who is overseeing the project. However, confirming this remains crucial as feedback on floating solar is still limited.
For Enercoop Aura, which financed the project, floating solar photovoltaics represents an opportunity to develop new areas and, through the energy supplier Enercoop, offer cheap electricity to consumers.
“In addition, many water bodies belong to communities, and it is interesting to turn them into regional development projects, combining different activities,” said the company’s project engineer, Emilien Boucher. “From now on, the goal is to monitor the operation, maintenance and associated costs, but also to work on optimizing the costs of this solution with a view to its implementation at other locations from 1 MW of power, which amounts to 4 times the size of the demonstrator.”
Boucher also explained that Enercoop expects to repeat the projects in the coming months, “with the aim of a larger scale to achieve a leveled energy cost between €80 and €85 per MWh.”
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