Storage-linked 5 MW floating PV plant goes online in Portugal

Portuguese utility EDP has switched on a new 5 MW floating solar array at the Alqueva hydropower dam.
Portuguese utility EDP has finished building a 5 MW floating PV plant at the Alqueva hydropower dam, at the largest reservoir in Portugal.

The facility features 26,600 floating structures provided by Spain’s Isigenere and 12,000 solar modules supplied by an unnamed manufacturer. It is also linked to 2 MWh of lithium-ion batteries.

The floats are made of corkscrew composite – a 100% natural, recyclable and biocompatible raw material – with recycled polymers. A specific anchoring and mooring system for complex environments has been implemented under the “FRESHER” European Innovation project. Isigenere has participated in the project for the last two years.
Miguel Patena, director of the EDP group in charge of the solar project, said that the electricity produced by the floating park would cost about one-third of that produced by a gas plant.

Maetel installed the floating solar platform and the electrical components, while the FRESHER consortium designed and installed the anchoring and mooring systems. Seaflex supplied the flexible moorings and Top Marinas installed the anchors and moorings. Preffor provided the ultra-high-resistance concrete elements that support the 22,000 kg floating platform and the perimeter protective pontoons, while Amorim Cork Composites supplied the natural cork polymer.