SP2 | Submerged Photovoltaic Solar Panel

Up to now photovoltaic panels have been used in several configurations:

  • On roofs
  • In photovoltaic fields
  • With concentrators
  • With two axes tracking

We propose to use them

IMMERSED IN WATER by a few cms.

The project has successfully gone through a long period of testing and it is based on three principles:

  • Nearly all of the photovoltaic material, in particular silicon and CdTe, have a negative thermal drift, i.e. they lose efficiency when the temperature increases.
    Therefore they are less efficient when the sun is most intense.
  • Photovoltaic panels use predominantly visible radiation.
  • Water keeps the temperature of the panel constant thus avoiding the thermal drift, and at the same time the panel doesn’t lose efficiency as it absorbs mainly the infrared.

SP2 allows us to realize a gain in efficiency of approximately 20% in the summer time (from 12 to 14,5%) compared to a normal panel exposed to the air

Moreover, it is easy to realize a system of two axes tracking (TASP2: two axes SP2) taking advantage of the fact that the buoyancy cancels the weight of the system and facilitates the slow movement of solar tracking. Moreover the submerged system can be immersed in case of extreme weather events.

In figure TASP2

TASP2 plant