In small countries like Malta or in large coastal cities it is difficult to find adequate areas to build large solar farms. The University of Mal­ta’s Solaqua floating solar panels project was aimed precisely at studying and testing the technical and financial feasibility of floating photovoltaic solar pa­nels in order to address the issue of scarcity of land for such facilities.

The €200,000 project is a Malta Council for Science and Technology research and innovation venture led by Prof. Luciano Mulè Stagno of the University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, with Pandia Energy Ltd and General Membrane Ltd as industrial partners.

While there are currently several floating PV systems around the world, the various prototypes tested in Malta are possibly the first and only ones suitable for use in open sea.

The final prototype PV panel system have now been launched and the project will be completed this year after having gathered two years of data for the first system launched at sea.

The first prototype was launch­ed at sea in December 2014. Various designs were tested both through modelling as well as at sea. One approach was to have floating rafts with PVs on top. This method aimed to make the system as robust and inexpensive as possible. The other approach was to have small, specially designed PVs that float and therefore do not require a raft to support them.

While both approaches were found to have their advantages and disadvantages, it was clear that the method of having large floating rafts appeared to be viable both economically and technologically. The method of having small individually anchored floating PVs also appeared to be technically viable, but costs may be higher and so it may potentially be more practical to have them in smaller clusters where large rafts are not possible or due to very shallow waters.

This project has put Malta at the forefront of research in open sea floating solar panels. While there are currently several floating PV systems around the world, the ones tested in Malta are possibly the first and only ones suitable for use in open sea, putting Malta in a prominent position in this area of research.

Factors that were studied include sea-worthiness, the effect of salt drying on the panels on their output, cooling and reflection effects and corrosion. Moreover, the project also involved performing extensive modelling on the best design and lowest cost for a floating system. Should the results prove promising, funding and partnerships to commercialise the idea will be sought.

The results from the project are being presented at two international conferences – the European Photovoltaic Conference (EU PVSEC) 2016 in Munich and the Offshore Energy and Storage Symposium in Malta.