Floating PV a ‘valuable complement’ to ground-mounted solar in Europe – report

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A BayWa re floating solar project in Germany.
The carbon footprint of the floating systems tested was about 15% higher than that of the ground-mounted system with the east-west orientation modelled. Image: BayWa re.

The carbon footprint produced by production and operation of floating PV systems in Europe could be around seven times lower than ground-mounted solar systems, making floating PV a “valuable complement” to utility-scale solar deployments.

These are the conclusions presented in a report published by Dutch research organisation TNO, in collaboration with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and its Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

‘Carbon Footprint Analysis of Floating PV systems’, published this week, compares the power output and operation of two floating PV projects on inland water bodies in Germany and the Netherlands, which have been in operation since 2021, to the characteristics of two theoretical solar plants in Cologne, modelled with yield prediction tool BIGEYE.

The floating plants differ in that the project in Germany has floaters made predominantly from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), while the project in the Netherlands has floaters comprising a combination of steel and HDPE. The two theoretical ground-mounted projects differ in their orientation, with one facing east-west and the other facing south and considered to have “optimum orientation and tilt”.

The systems had a relatively narrow range of carbon footprint by project capacity; the two ground-mounted systems were considered to be the same, and so were modelled with the same capacity. These projects had carbon footprint of 1,100kgCO2eq/kWp, compared to 1,280kgCO2eq/kWp for the HDPE floating project in Germany, and 1,300kgCO2eq/kWp for the compound floating project in the Netherlands.

Credit: PV Tech

The graph above demonstrates the carbon footprint by electricity output of each of these systems, where the variance in tilt angle and orientation among the ground-mounted projects impacted both electricity output the overall carbon footprint of the system.

The report notes that this means that the carbon footprint of the floating systems is about 15% higher than that of the ground-mounted system with the east-west orientation, and around 25% higher than that of the optimum ground-mounted project.

While this demonstrates a higher theoretical carbon footprint for the floating projects, the report notes that, compared to actual solar projects currently in operation in Western Europe, the floating projects’ performance is actually very strong. In Germany and the Netherlands, the average carbon footprint by output of the countries’ average energy mix is around 380gCO2eq/kWh, meaning that the floating projects produce around seven times less carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated.

Shortening lifespans would drive up carbon emissions

The report also notes that shortening the lifespans of such projects can have a profound impact on their relative carbon footprints. A reduction in the lifetime of the systems’ modules from 30 to 20 years can lead to an increase of 31% for the HDPE system and 28% for the compound floating system.

Meanwhile, a reduction of the lifetime of the systems’ support structures leads to an increase in carbon footprint of 19% for the HDPE system and 16% for the compound system. This suggests that shortening module lifespan, rather than the operational lifespan of supporting infrastructure, such as floaters, will have a more profound negative impact on the system’s overall carbon footprint.

This is notable because floating PV projects have been shown to have a slightly higher degradation rate – the rate at which a PV system loses efficiency and produces less power over time – than ground-mounted systems.

A report published in 2021 from the Indian Institute of Technology found that floating systems had a degradation rate of 1.18%, compared to 1.07% for ground-mounted projects, and one way to minimise the extent of this degradation would be to cut the overall lifespan of the projects. However, this must be done with care so as not to maximise carbon emissions in the short term.

“Therefore, it is recommended to closely monitor the degradation rate of the PV modules, as well as the performance and reliability of the overall system and the need for maintenance,” wrote the report’s authors. The report can be accessed here.

Floating solar design has seen some notable advances recently, with Spanish tracker manufacturer Soltec unveiling a new floating tracker design earlier this year. The news follows the passage of new regulation on floating PV by the Spanish government, raising hopes for greater deployment of floating PV in the country.

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
June 30, 2025
Solargis CEO Marcel Suri explores three areas where new standards could help underpin greater efficiency, accuracy and market resilience.
June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.
June 27, 2025
Statkraft has signed PPAs with Better Energy to purchase energy from two solar power plants in Poland with a total capacity of 64GWh.
June 27, 2025
PV Tech spoke to Monika Paplaczyk about recent changes in the UK energy mix and opportunities for investors in the solar sector.
Premium
June 27, 2025
PV Talk: '2024 was a transformational year in terms of energy policy,' says Monika Paplaczyk ahead of this year's Clean Power 2030 Summits.
Premium
June 26, 2025
Carlos Rodriguez, Oktoviano Gandhi and Sun Huixuan examine the energy yield performance of different FPV system configurations.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece