LONGi supplied breakthrough monocrystalline modules to the floating panda PV power station in China’s Anhui Province

In Xinji Town, Fengtai County, Huainan City, Anhui Province, a special photovoltaic power station has attracted much attention since day one. Integrating the charming image of giant panda in the design, the floating power station is another innovative project of Panda Green Energy Group after its Datong project, the world’s first ground “Panda” power station, and also marks LONGi’s another supply of module products to a “Panda” power station after the Datong project.

The project has total installed capacity of 100MW, with the overall floating system solution and floating body provided by Sungrow. There are three types of floating bodies: main floating body, secondary floating body and aisle floating body. This project adopts customized black aisle floating body to display the image of panda.

Li Xu, a sales representative of LONGi Solar, recalled: “In 2017, LONGi supplied efficient monocrystalline modules to two arrays of the project. In order to actively support the project construction, through multi-party cooperation, LONGi’s modules arrived at the project site ahead of other suppliers. As a result, the two arrays were the first to start grid-connected power generation.”

The project realized full-capacity grid-connected power generation in November 2018, and is expected to generate more than 3 billion kw/h clean electricity for the local area in its 25-year life cycle.

The “Panda” floating power station is located in a coal mining subsidence area of Huainan, which in the past was not a vast lake area as it is today. In plain areas like Huainan, the groundwater is shallow. After the ground collapsed due to coal mining, the groundwater was exposed, forming water areas. Under the water, there are disappeared villages including Bali Village, Beifanmiao Village, Zhangtong Village, Tongying Village and Huangwan Village. These subsidence areas have brought irreversible changes to the lives of local people.

From the deserted “coal mining subsidence area” to the floating “photovoltaic power station”, the construction of the floating power station in the deserted coal mining subsidence area without occupying land resources will explore a new way for the comprehensive treatment, development and utilization of water areas in the coal mining subsidence areas in Huainan and Huaibei of Anhui Province. The construction of floating power stations can reduce water evaporation, inhibit algae growth, and help local aquaculture and fishery; the construction, operation and maintenance of power stations also provide a lot of job opportunities for local people who “have no land to till”.

In recent years, China has seen a sharp increase in the number of floating power station projects, and even become the most important floating power station market in the world, mainly driven by a large number of coal mining subsidence area projects. Soon, nearly 1/2 of the water areas will be covered by floating photovoltaic power stations, which will not only form new energy bases, but more importantly, invigorate deserted land and achieve resources renewal and real economic benefits. The construction of floating photovoltaic power stations in coal mining subsidence areas can not only regenerate “waste water” into a brand-new power station carrier, but also maximize the self-cleaning capability of floating photovoltaic power stations, and purify the water quality by covering the water surface to reduce evaporation and inhibit the growth of microorganisms in the water.

In addition, floating photovoltaic power stations can also make full use of the water cooling function to solve the cooling problem encountered by ground photovoltaic power stations. Data from several research institutions show that compared with ordinary ground photovoltaic power stations, the energy gain of floating power stations is as high as 5% to 10%, and there will be terawatt-level growth potential in the future.

Up to now, LONGi has supplied high-quality efficient photovoltaic modules for many floating projects. The Hi-MO4 modules launched by LONGi last year are well compatible with the mainstream floating products on the market. The design of bifacial glass modules will better ensure the reliable weather resistance of the floating projects, while the design of high-power modules with frames can significantly reduce installation costs and bring lower BOS and operation & maintenance costs. The PERC technology and gallium-doped patent technology further ensure the stable operation and high power generation revenue of the projects. LONGi will continue to provide customers with better solutions with higher-quality products in the future.