Optimization and assessment of floating and floating-tracking PV systems integrated in on- and off-grid hybrid energy systems

Considering the targets of Thailand in terms of renewable energy exploitation and decarbonization of the shrimp farming sector, this work evaluates several scenarios for optimal integration of hybrid renewable energy systems into a representative shrimp farm. In particular, floating and floating-tracking PV systems are considered as alternatives for the exploitation of solar energy to meet the shrimp farm electricity demand. By developing a dynamic techno-economic simulation and optimization model, the following renewable energy systems have been evaluated: PV and wind based hybrid energy systems, off-grid and on-grid PV based hybrid energy systems, ground mounted and floating PV based hybrid energy systems, and floating and floating-tracking PV based hybrid energy systems. From a water-energy nexus viewpoint, floating PV systems have shown significant impacts on the reduction of evaporation losses, even if the energy savings for water pumping are moderate due to the low hydraulic head. Nevertheless, the study on the synergies between water for food and power production has highlighted that the integration of floating PV represents a key solution for reducing the environmental impacts of shrimp farming. For the selected location, the results have shown that PV systems represent the best renewable solution to be integrated into a hybrid energy system due to the abundance of solar energy resources as compared to the moderate wind resources. The integration of PV systems in off-grid configurations allows to reach high renewable reliabilities up to 40% by reducing the levelized cost of electricity. Higher renewable reliabilities can only be achieved by integrating energy storage solutions but leading to higher levelized cost of electricity. Although the floating-tracking PV systems show higher investment costs as compared to the reference floating PV systems, both solutions show similar competiveness for reliabilities up to 45% due to the higher electricity production of the floating-tracking PV systems. The higher electricity production from the floating-tracking PV systems leads to a better competitiveness for reliabilities higher than 90% due to lower capacity requirements for the storage systems.