Abstract
To have a clean energy future, global carbon emissions need to be decreased and an investment in renewable energy must be made. An example of renewable energy is solar energy, where the energy is collected from the sun via photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, this is not enough, and scientist and engineers are currently developing new technologies to reach a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide. Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) Systems can be a tool to assist in achieving the aggressive renewable energy goals. With their unique adaptation of placing solar panels on a body of water rather than land-based, there exist potential to increase the amount of electricity generated globally if water bodies were to be used as well. The objective of this study is to evaluate feasibility of using Floating Photovoltaic Technology (FPV) on local bodies of water to determine the energy, environmental and financial effectiveness of the system. Using PVWatts to calculate the annual energy generation placing a 30 MW FPV system at Lake Yosemite would generate 50,424,169 kWh energy annually (10% surface area coverage). And a total of 100,848,336 kWh if a 60MW system were installed (20% coverage). If the reservoir was covered by 10%, the initial investment of the system would be slightly less than $48 million and a payback period of a little more than 8 years. Changing the coverage percentage to 20, would net an initial investment of $91.6 million and payback period of almost 7-8 years. Other bodies of water in California were modeled using the similar methods. The research done can be used as a foundation for utilities in California to consider introducing FPV technology to the bodies of water that they own and are used for irrigation or water treatment.