In July, Ferrovial Agromán completed the installation of a stand-alone floating photovoltaic plant in a reservoir known as “Huerto Chico”, owned by the User Community of Lorca, in the Municipality of La Hoya de Lorca, in Murcia.
The project is part of the programme to modernise Lorca’s irrigation system for the User Community. In addition to the energy savings achieved by this community group, the system will reduce water evaporation from the reservoir by an estimated 65%.
Works have comprised mainly the installation of 1,480 panels on a modular system of floating supports to make up two identical generators. Each combination is made up of 740 polycrystalline 265 Wp photovoltaic modules which feed into a hybrid solar frequency variator with a capacity to provide up to 90 kw.
New floating photovoltaic generator system
This floating cover is made with modular floats which fit together with flexible connections which allow the resulting floating platform to rotate, and not only move vertically and horizontally. The platform can thus adapt to the concave profile of the reservoir, irrespective of the water level in the reservoir. The floating platform is rigidly fixed to an anchoring system outside the reservoir, which keeps it in place despite any horizontal pressure produced by weather conditions (wind and waves).
Installation of the platform begins with the provision and anchoring of the solar panels on the floats using special anchoring brackets, which is done on firm ground. The floats and modules are then fitted together, and electrical connections made. This combination of floats and modules is then provisionally fixed to the external anchoring system and a second row of floats and panels added. This process is repeated until the desired number of rows is fitted on each floating platform. As the various rows are added, they are made to slide into the water over the embankment on the side of the reservoir (over which a protective cover is placed).
Works have also included complete renovation of the existing pumping station for the reservoir. New pumps have been provided, and other components and valves replaced. New metal fencing and a roof cover have also been provided, and integrated monitoring and control systems installed for the User Community, including an intruder-control system using CCTV.
These works have been carried out for the Department of Water, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Autonomous Community of the Murcia Region, with cofunding from the central Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and the Environment and the European Union through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
