The College launched a new pilot project intended to investigate the mechanical and electrical performance of flexible PVs at sea and eventually to determine whether such a setup would be technically and commercially viable. The pilot project is being subsidised through the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) Research and Innovation grant, and will be deployed off the coast of the Maltese Islands. The work is scheduled for the coming 24 months.
The development concept is innovative and original because it utilises flexible PVs mounted directly on the surface of the sea. The seawater acts as a heat sink, cooling the panels while they generate electricity. This should have a beneficial effect on the efficiency and overall yield of the array. The performance of the floating PVs will be benchmarked with a similar, but much smaller system on dry land. It is expected that the proposed concept will inherently have a number of advantages in relation to other similar systems, namely lower capital costs; less maintenance, improved reliability in comparison with other forms of marine renewable energy, such as offshore wind, rigid offshore PV structures, wave and tidal energy.
The partners on this project are MCAST, which will manage and engineer the project as well as carry out the underlying research, Econetique, Azzopardi Fisheries and a Canadian research company called MIRARCO.
Initial studies have indicated that the concept has potential. The OPPV project will determine whether further studies should be undertaken in this area.
Mr Stephen Cachia, MCAST Principal and CEO, stated the importance of research and the College’s commitment to support and invest in order to encourage more research at this level. He mentioned that there are a number of research projects currently underway at MCAST with more in the pipeline.
Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Chairman of MCST, spoke about the importance of research and innovation in a country’s economy and the Council’s role to support and promote this. He mentioned the newly launched programme FUSION, which is a funding programme which provides grants for R&I coupled with the necessary and diligent guidance to enable researchers to turn their innovative ideas into a market-ready reality.