JA Solar Supplies Modules for the First Floating PV Plants in Spain and Malaysia
BEIJING : JA Solar recently announced that it supplied all photovoltaic (PV) modules for Spain’s first grid-connected floating solar plant which is located in the Sierra Brava reservoir in the Extremadura region. This project has been successfully connected to the grid and put into operation. The 1.1MW project adopts JA Solar mono-facial and bifacial modules which are installed in various orientation and inclination angles using different floating systems. Comparing their differences in energy yield, maintenance cost, etc. will be an important reference for the development of floating PV projects.
Compared with the traditional ground-mounted PV plant, a floating solar plant can reduce land resources required, while the water helps to restrain the rise of surface temperature of modules and enhance power generation. With these advantages, floating PV plants have gradually attracted more attention from investors and EPCs on a global scale. In the reignited Spanish PV market, the development of floating solar plants is welcomed. The Sierra Brava project has received strong support from the local government, and the governor of the Extremadura region attended the plant’s opening ceremony.
To protect kestrels, two floating “islands” and nest boxes are installed. And the living conditions of birds and fish will be monitored to understand the impact of PV plant operations on the surrounding creatures and provide a reference for the operation and maintenance of floating solar plants.
In addition, Malaysia’s first floating PV plant, a 10MW floating PV project in Selangor state, has recently been successfully connected to the grid. The JA Solar double-glass modules selected for the project have excellent weather resistance performance, and can maintain stable energy yield under high temperature and high humidity to effectively raise customers’ profits.
Jin Baofang, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of JA Solar, commented, “With the continuous development of the clean energy industry, PV power generation is being applied more widely. A floating PV plant reduces the impact of land resource constraints, and is complementary to applications such as ground-mounted PV plant and rooftop PV system. JA Solar has been committed to the development and application of high-efficiency PV products, and we are willing to strengthen cooperation with global partners to explore various ways of promoting PV energy development and utilization, to bring the renewable energy to more people.”