Journal of Physics: Conference Series

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Development and Feasibility Analysis of Floating Solar Panel Application

in Palembang, South Sumatra
To cite this article: Benny Junianto et al 2020 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1500 012016

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Development and Feasibility Analysis of Floating Solar Panel

Application in Palembang, South Sumatra

Benny Junianto1,Tresna Dewi2, and Carlos R Sitompul1

2
Renewable Energy Department, Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya, Jalan Srijaya Negara Bukit
Besar, Palembang, 30139.
2
Electrical Engineering Department, Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya, Jalan Srijaya Negara Bukit
Besar, Palembang, 30139.
E-mail: tresna [email protected]

Abstract. PV system utilize the photovoltaic effect to generate electricity directly from the
energy brought by the sunrays. However, the normal ground installation of PV panel is prone
to several effect reducing the power output and efficiency, such as the overheated panel surface
that can lead to malfunction of a cell. The alternative for ground installation is installing the
PV panel on the surface of a water body such as river or lake, and called Floating Solar Panel.
This paper presents the pilot project for application of floating solar panel in Palembang. This
setting is also functioning as passive or natural cooling for the panel and increase the power
output. The pilot project was conducted on August 2-8, 2019 by comparing two 100 Wp Poly-
crystalline PV panels. The passive cooling of floating solar panel can reduce surface
temperature by 2oC compared to ground installation. The experiment shows the most effective
time to harvest the power from the sun is from 11.00 AM to 02.00 PM. The average output
power generated by Floating Solar Panels is 51.6 Watts, compared to 42.9 Watt Ground Solar
panels.

Keywords: Floating solar panel, photovoltaic, ground solar panel, renewable energy, output
efficiency.

1. Introduction

The data from Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia for
2014 stated that Indonesia dependence on fossil energy, especially oil, is still high at 96%
(petroleum 48%, gas 18%, and coal 30%) of total consumption [1]. The high consumption of
fossil energy sometimes due to over-consumed energy, while on the other hand, Indonesia is
facing a decline in fossil energy reservation. This declination is a continuous trend that the
Indonesian government has to address the need to find the alternative to maintain the stability
of electricity supply relative to the increment of electricity demand.

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Indonesia is considering energy alternatives or renewable energy which can be

replenished in a short time and unlimited. By utilizing Indonesia location in the equator,
energy from the sun is one of the most promising alternatives whereas a tropical region, and
it receives an average solar irradiation potential of 4.8 kWh/m 2 per day [2][3].
Palembang is located in South Sumatra and is very near to equator line, situated in 2 o
59’27.99” South and 104o 45’24.24” East. The total area of Palembang city is 358.55 km2.
Palembang enjoys a tropical climate with high humidity and wind speeds ranging from 2.3
km/h - 4.5 km/h. The average city temperature ranges from 23.4 - 31.7 oC, with average solar
radiation of 45%[2].
The condition of the abundance of solar radiation for all the year-long also become a
challenge for electricity generation using Photovoltaic (PV) effect since the high temperature
of Palembang increases the PV panel surface temperature. This high heat, known as
overheating, can significantly reduce the power output of PV panel electrical energy
conversion. PV panel performance is very dependent on the operating temperature. Most of
the energy absorbed by the PV panel is converted to heat. In general, PV panels only convert
4-17% of solar radiation into electrical energy [4]-[12]. One of the most affected by this
increase in temperature is a decrease in working voltage, output power and Fill Factor, but on
the other hand there is a slight increase in shortcircuit current [6]; however with the price of
voltage drop.
This challenge can be overcome by installing a cooling system; however, it also comes
with difficulty due to active cooling needs power. The passive cooling which is utilizing
nature is preferable than active cooling, and one of them is by floating the PV panel on the
surface of waterbody, such as river and lake[13][14].
This paper discusses the pilot project of floating PV panel on the waterbody and
compares the produced output power with the standard ground installation. The floating and
ground installation PV panels are placed nearby to each other, and the data was taken for
seven days simultaneously. The output power of both installations is measured and compared
to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

2. Methodology

PV system is a power plant that uses sunlight through solar cells (photovoltaic) to convert
solar photon ray radiation into electrical energy. Solar cells are thin layers made of pure silicon
(Si) semiconductor material, or other semiconductor material. Based on the installation
location, the PV system is divided into three types; Ground, Roof, and Floating [7].
Meanwhile, based on the application and configuration, in general, the PV system is
classified into two; connected to the utility or on-grid, and standalone or off-grid PV

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Figure 1. Research design

plant. If in its use PV system is combined with other types of power plants, it is called a hybrid
system.
The main factors influencing variations in PV system electricity production are solar
irradiation, solar module temperature, and shading that occur during operation time.
Irradiation affects the electric current generated by the solar power plant, module temperature
affects the voltage generated by the solar power plant, and shading affects solar irradiation
received by solar modules in the generation process, which at the same time affects the
performance of solar power plant [8] [9] [10]. In previous years, many theoretical and
experimental studies have been carried out to design cooling systems for PV panels. One
solution that is currently developing in developed countries is Floating Solar panels. When
the solar power plant is built on waterbody, the air on the surface is cooler and overcome the
problem of overheating solar panel surface. Floating Solar Panels are known to be about 11%
more efficient than Ground Solar Panels [11].

(a) Ground installation (b) Floating installation

Figure 2. Ground and floating installation design

This research was conducted at Pier 12 Marine Pertamina in Palembang, South Sumatra,
Indonesia as shown in figure 3 (2o59’27.99” S and 104o 45’24.24” E). This study

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Figure 3. Palembang location in Sumatra island.

Table 1. PV panel specifications

Parameters Variable Value
Nominal maximum power Pmax 100 W
Optimum operating voltage Vmax 18.74
V
Optimum operating current Ipm 6.20 A
Open circuit voltage voc 22.04
V
Short circuit voltage isc 6.57 V
Maximum system voltage 1000
V
Maximum series fuse rating 10 A
implements two polycrystalline 100 WP (W-peak) PV panels. One panel is installed on the
river and anther one is installed on the ground. Data is taken for seven days (August 2-8, 2019)
from 08:00 AM to 04:00 PM. Table 1 shows the technical specification of both panels. Figure
1 shows the research design while Figure 2(a) and 2(b) show the installation design of the PV
panel research.

3. Result and Discussion

Data was taken on August 2-8, 2019 with average sunny days during dry season in
Indonesia. Figure 4(a) shows the experimental setup for floating solar panel and figure 4(b)
shows the ground installation to compare the effectiveness of the proposed floating
installation.
Figure 5 shows data taken on August 2, 2019 when a 100 W load (DC lamp) is connected
to the terminals of each PV panel. Irradiance begin to increase at 9:00 AM, this will affect the
output power generated by the PV Panel. The maximum power generated occurs at 12.00

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

where the Floating Solar Panel produce output power of 55.3 Watt higher than the Ground
Solar Panel which only produces an output power of 44.04

(a) Floating installation (b) Ground installation

Figure 4. Experimental setup for floating and ground installation

Figure 5. Irradiance effect on output power.

Watt with Irradiance 1147 W/m2. Irradiance gradually drops at 15:00 to 350 W/m2.
The effect of PV panel temperature on output power can be seen in Figure 6, as a 100 W
DC lamp load is connected to the terminals of each PV panel. The difference in heat on the
surfaces of the two PV panels affects the output power produced. The temperature of a
Floating Solar panel is lower than an average 1.5oC Ground Solar panel.
Figure 7 is data taken on August 3, 2019, PV panels produce an effective electric current
from 10:00 AM. to 3:00 PM indicated by a 100 W DC-lamp. This range of electricity highest
production points are called efficiency points.
The maximum power generated occurs at 12.00 PM, where the Ground Solar panel
produced power of 44.08 Watts and the Floating Solar Panel produced an output power of
53.68 Watt with Irradiance 1158 W / m. Irradiance was reduced to 740 W/m 2 which resulted
in a decrease in output power at 01.00 PM due to cloudy conditions as shown in figure 8.

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Figure 6. Temperature effect on output power.

Figure 7. The efficiency points and the effect of cloudy region.

Figure 9 shows the effect of the PV panel surface temperature on the output power when
a 1.5 ohm load (DC lamp) is connected to the PV panel terminal. When the PV panel surface
temperature is lower, it will produce more effective performance. The average output power
of a Floating Solar Panel is 51.4 watts, higher than the 42.6 watt Ground Solar Panel.
Figure 9 shows the output power produced by the PV panel. The study was conducted
for 7 days from August 2 to August 8, 2019. The average daily data was taken from 11:00
AM to 02:00 PM to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Table 2 shows a
recapitulation of the output and efficiency comparison of measurements for 7 days.
The maximum power from the PV panel occurs at 12.00 when the sun is right on the
surface of the PV panel. Irridiance and PV panel temperature will greatly affect the

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Figure 8. Temperature and cloudy effect on output power relative to irradiance received.

Figure 9. Recapitulation of output power during 7 days of experiment

output power generated. Based on the experimental results the Floating Solar Panel produce
an average power of 51.6 Watt higher than the Ground Solar Panel which only produces an
output power of 42.9 Watt with irradiance 1035 W/m2.
Indonesia is experiencing a dry season during the experiment. Therefore, the weather is
very conducive for PV systems. Figure 10 shows the efficiency of the output power produced
for 7 days, where η is the efficiency. The average efficiency of Floating Solar Panel is 7%,
and 5.8% for Ground Solar Panel. The green line in figure 10 shows the difference in
efficiency, and the average difference is 1.2%.
The experiment results shows that the application of Floating Solar Panel is effective in
reducing PV panels surface temperature, and increase the output power and efficiency of a
PV System.
Table 2. Recapitulation and comparison of Floating and Ground Solar Panel

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Dat Tim P P Floating Irradianc η η

e e Ground e Groun Floatin
d g
02- 11.0 45.37 53.375 1106 6.1 7.2
Aug 0 5 4 2
-19
12.0 44.04 53.2 1147.4 5.9 7.2
0 3 6 0
13.0 41.46 51,944 1038 5.6 7.0
0 3 1 3
14.0 42.74 52,073 994,8 5.7 7.0
0 4 8 4
03- 11.0 44,93 52,722 1102 6,0 7.1
Aug 0 6 8 3
-19
12.0 44.08 53.68 1158.4 5.9 7.2
0 2 6 6
13.0 43.4 46.781 740 5.8 6.3
0 5 8 3
14.0 42.62 51.813 994.8 5.7 7.0
0 5 7 1
04- 11.0 43.4 51.772 1045.1 5.8 7.0
Aug 0 5 8 0
-19
12.0 45.47 54.384 1153.4 6.1 7.3
0 7 5 6
13.0 39.93 47.759 846.1 5.4 6.4
0 2 0 6
14.0 41.46 53.277 1067.7 5.6 7.2
0 3 1 1
05- 11.0 42.00 49.896 979.8 5.6 6.7
Aug 0 5 8 5
-19
12.0 42.58 51.813 1172.6 5.7 7.0
0 8 6 1
13.0 43.88 52.116 1167.8 5.9 7.0
0 4 4 5
14.0 42.00 51.129 1013.5 5.6 6.9
0 5 8 2
06- 11.0 42.00 52.116 1048.1 5.6 7.0
Aug 0 5 8 5
-19
12.0 42.58 54.208 1153.4 5.7 7.3
0 8 6 3

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

13.0 43.88 53.07 1167.8 5.9 7.1

0 4 4 8
14.0 42.00 52.374 1077.7 5.6 7.0
0 5 8 9
11.0 43.92 52.46 994.8 5.9 7.1
0 4 4 0
07- 12.0 45.47 47.922 845.1 6,1 6.4
Aug 0 7 5 8
-19
13.0 45.26 48.84 886.1 6.1 6.6
0 4 2 1
14.0 42.9 53.277 1067.7 5.8 7.2
0 0 1
11.0 42.62 51.772 1045.1 5.7 7.0
0 5 7 0
08- 12.0 39.48 53.725 1113.4 5.3 7.2
Aug 0 5 4 7
-19
13.0 40.73 47.922 846.1 5.5 6.4
0 6 1 8
14.0 41.46 51.3 1010.5 5.6 6.9
0 3 1 4
4. Conclusion

This paper presents Development and Feasibility Analysis of Floating Solar Panel Application
in Palembang, South Sumatra . Experiment was conducted at Pier 12 Marine Pertamina
Palembang, Indonesia in August 2-8, 2019 by installing two 100 WP poly-crystalline PV
panels. The Floating Solar panel installation application can reduce the average surface
temperature of the PV panel by 2oC. The decrement of PV panel surface temperature prevent
the overheated surface and increase the output power (51.6 Watt) compared to a Ground Solar
Panel (42.9 watts). The experiment data shows that the effective points of harvesting solar
power in Palembang is from 11:00 AM to

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FIRST 2019 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1500 (2020) 012016 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1500/1/012016

Figure 10. Floating and ground solar panel efficiency comparison.

2:00 PM. The Floating Solar Panels also improves the efficiency of output power by 1.2%
greater than a Ground Solar panel. The Floating Solar Panel acts as a passive cooling system
when temperatures rise. Floating Solar Panels is proven to havea better performance when
compared to Ground Solar Panels; therefore, it can be concluded that the development of
Floating Solar Panel Applications in Palembang, South Sumatra is feasible to be applied.

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