Floating PV station glows in Shandong

Workers recently finished inspecting and cleaning the solar panels of a large floating photovoltaic power generation project in Lingcheng district of Dezhou, Shandong province.

The project, spanning an area equivalent to 800 standard soccer fields, is situated over the waters of Dingzhuang reservoir, which serves as an industrial water source for the Dezhou power plant of Huaneng Power International Inc. It is one of the biggest floating photovoltaic power generation farms in the world, said the plant.

"We conducted thorough checks on the panels to identify any issues such as cracks that could impact power generation," said Jia Yinzhi, an engineer of the plant's new energy team.

The project comprises over 600,000 panels divided into 81 sections, with each section containing inverters equipped with advanced monitoring systems.

"If a panel malfunctions, the inverters will send a signal to the control room, which has efficiently facilitated our work on inspecting the panels," he said.

The solar panels are not actually floating on the water. Instead, they are installed on top of floating devices that support them, creating ample space beneath them.

"The upper side of the solar panels absorbs light, as does the other side of the solar panels," said Jia.

When light shines on the upper side of the solar panels, it is also reflected from the water underneath to the other side of the solar panels that faces the water, improving the panels' power generation efficiency.

Since it was connected to the grid in 2021, the project has generated a total of 1.26 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. This has brought an average annual saving of 200,000 metric tons of standard coal and a reduction of 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Additionally, the solar panels contribute to reducing water evaporation by 1.6 million cubic meters annually, said Jia.

Shandong has been accelerating the development and utilization of clean energy, advancing toward greener and low-carbon energy development. Since 2021, the installed capacity of new energy and renewable energy in the province has been growing at an average annual rate of 25.2 percent.

By the end of June this year, the installed capacity of new energy power generation in Shandong exceeded 100 million kilowatts. "This means that 190 billion kWh of green electricity can be generated each year, saving 54 million tons of standard coal annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 140 million tons," said Wang Fudong, an official from the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

As of late October, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy and renewable energy power generation in the province has exceeded that of coal-fired power generation, making it the primary source of electricity in Shandong, according to data from the energy administration of Shandong province.

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn