Abstract:
Ethiopia has significant renewable energy potential that is dispersed around the country, making it an ideal location for renewable energy development and investment. Solar power is one of the most dependable renewable energy sources. The intensity of solar radiation and the ambient temperature influence the electricity generated by solar panels. It will generate the most electrical power when the intensity of solar panel must be controlled so that its position is always aligned with that of the sun. The proposed sun tracking floating solar system provides optimal energy conversion of solar energy into electricity by orienting the solar panel in accordance with the true position of the sun. The temperature and wind speed are major contributory factors for panel efficiency drops and low power output in land photovoltaic installations. In the design and analysis of sun tracking floatovoltic solar PV system, a solar plant will be designed and developed for Entos Eyesus Island residents for water treatment and house appliances. At land temperature of 35.27°C, generated power output is 2306.32 W. High wind speed on water body reduces floating solar PV cell temperature from 35.27°C to 32.01°C. At temperature of 32.01°C generated power is 2336.32 W. Thus, floating PV installation increases the generated power output by 30 W. This project focuses mainly on the detailed design and selection of an appropriate floating structure pontoon, mooring and anchoring mechanism with the best efficiency, CAD modeling, optimizing energy production of photovoltaic cells, and installing the floating solar photovoltaic module on the selected study area. ANSYS and MATLAB software’s were used for FEA analysis.
Keywords: Floatovoltaic, Sun Tracking, Mooring, Anchoring, Floating structure,
Renewable energy, Efficiency, FEA analysis, MATLAB