Solar panels in swamps: Spain's new plan to accelerate its green transition

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Do not be alarmed if you are frequent visitors to the swamps and reservoirs of the national geography.

The algae, for the moment, do not breed plaques.

The Royal Decree regarding the implementation of "urgent" measures in order to mitigate the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine opens the ban on the State for the

.

That is to say, before long, the electric companies will begin to place on the water the same solar 'plates' that exist on land.

The measure tries to boost the energy transition in which Spain is immersed, promoting the use of a renewable source with an immense projection in our territory, such as the sun.

The Executive seeks with this package of measures to reduce dependence on the 'tap' of third countries, as well as accelerate the decarbonization process

imposed by the European Union.

About

hydrological sites meet the necessary requirements to be able to implement a technology that in Spain is only installed in Sierra de Brava (Badajoz).

The first farm that had this type of photovoltaic panels dates back to 2007 and is located in Aichi (Japan).

Better performance

Its operation does not differ greatly from a land installation once the natural water barrier has been solved.

The photovoltaic panels do not navigate at their free will at the mercy of the wind, waves and other inclement weather, they must be controlled at all times.

In order to guarantee their safety, all the modules are anchored by mooring cables to the bottom of the reservoir or to the shore.

This makes it possible to prevent the currents from changing the south orientation that the installation must maintain in order to maximize the production of solar energy.

As a whole, they are connected through a power cable to the electrical network they supply.

Being located on water results in a series of benefits that the land surface cannot provide.

The

of the environment lowers the temperature, which increases its efficiency.

Contrary to what is believed, there is no direct correlation between heat and energy production with photovoltaic panels, rather the opposite happens.

For each degree Celsius that it increases, around 0.36% of the total radiation received is lost.

This is not the only advantage of a floating facility, as it can also help conserve biodiversity.

The shade generated by the plates

of water, this is very useful in arid areas where, during the dry seasons, the levels of the reservoirs decrease greatly.

In addition, it

in ecosystems, which in the long term will prevent the proliferation of invasive species that destroy ecosystems.

As a general rule, a lower amount of algae implies a better quality of the species in the environment.

The space problem

Despite the innumerable positive externalities that derive from this source of energy, solar macro-farms need very large surfaces to tame the sun.

In general, this situation generates conflicts of interest between the different economic activities in the area where they are installed due to 'collateral effects' such as the loss of wealth of the land on which they are located.

Another advantage provided by this type of facility is to offer spaces in which, in general, there is no important attached industry such as livestock or agriculture.

It is true that recreational activities are carried out in a large number of swamps, however, according to the maximum dimensions published in the

the 'free' surface in the swamps will always be equal to or greater than 80% of its total .

The Ministry will attend to

of each one of the water masses in order to calculate the exploitable extension.

Depending on the quality of the ecosystem, the electricity companies will be able to make use of

of the total surface area of ​​these spaces.

The minimum environmental quality that the Executive requires to be able to carry out these concessions corresponds to a '

' level, where up to 5% can be covered.

In those reserves whose biological productivity amounts to '

' or '

', the maximum will be 15% and 20%, respectively.

It will not be possible to make use of those spaces of primary productivity (oligotrophic), where there is a very low level of nutrients and the incidence of sunlight is more necessary.

Nor can they be carried out in lakes or lagoons of natural origin.

The first with Spain brand

The

plant (Badajoz) is the first commitment to this energy source in Spain.

maintains five floating solar blocks -three bifacial and two monofacial- that bring together a total of 3,000 modules, each with a different mounting configuration.

A facility that occupies nearly 12,000m2 of the total 209km2 offered by the reservoir, contributing approximately 1,125 MWp of power to the network.

"This technology is a reality in many countries in Asia and Europe, larger projects are beginning to appear every time," says

, director of innovation at Acciona Energía.

The electricity company affirms that in its plant "it has been able to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of the plant" as well as its "sustainable nature" with the environment.

"We have carried out an analysis of the productions and there is an improvement with respect to the terrestrial installations of between 2% and 3%", Linares remarks in statements to EL MUNDO.

The director of Acciona predicts "a growth of 20%" in the next five years while she highlights the "hybridization capacity" of this energy source with any other renewable.

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