Assessment of Feasible Sites for the Development of Floating Photovoltaic Systems in South Korea

Abstract

South Korea has experienced a considerable growth on the installation of photovoltaic modules in recent years. Nevertheless, the country still faces obstacles regarding the further expansion on the use of this technology. The main challenge is the lack of available land for the large-scale projects, which generally require great extent of area. Floating photovoltaic systems have been pointed as a solution due to their low requirement on land. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated higher efficiency of such technology compared to usual on-ground installations. Therefore, this study investigated the technical feasibility for the construction of floating photovoltaic across South Korea through a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis. The study evaluated a total of 3178 lakes by analyzing technical factors such as irradiance, water body depth, and other features that have been proven to affect the performance of the floating systems. The assessment pointed to 45 lakes being suitable sites for the deployment of the designed systems. Furthermore, the potential capacity for electricity generation from photovoltaic floating units in the suitable lakes was estimated in approximately 126.4MWp. The economic assessment pointed to requirements of 21.9% reduction in initial costs in order for the designed systems to reach a break-even point. Moreover, a reduction of 43.9% would be essential for such systems to achieve the same economic standards as on-ground solar farms.