Design and Feasibility analysis of Floating Solar Photovoltaic System for Minicoy Island, India

Various ruinous effects of using fossils for generation has already degraded the quality of the planet, so switching to natural resources is the need of the planet. Milestones are already achieved milestones in generating energy using solar ground mounted systems but due to land scarcity at places like Islands authors have proposed floating solar plants. Floating solar photovoltaic system is an idea of combining the two most abundant resources, solar energy and water together. So, to fulfill the most critical need of humans' electricity, the authors have proposed a floating solar photovoltaic system for an Island keeping environmental benefits as the urgent need of the planet in mind. This is an innovation in the area of energy production using the free solar source. Islands like Lakshadweep which are declared as hope spots need renewable resources for electricity production. In this paper to meet estimated 1.1929 MU of electricity demand at Minicoy Island the FSPV installation requires an 831.85kWp plant, having 0.7415 performance ratio. As the location is near the equator so sufficient global irradiance is achieved. The value of peak sun hours make it suitable for solar installation. This offshore system is using batteries for storage thus having a solar fraction value of 97.60%. Environment benefits include reduction in 6520 tons of CO2 production and saving of 0.8065 ha of land.