Project

Assignment

Member of the project management grouping

Project summary

Designing, building, and installing a floating structure designed to host a solar platform on the Lac des Toules in Switzerland in partnership with Romande Energie S.A. and ABB.

The project involved three stages:

• An initial photovoltaic generation test was conducted near the dam, on the shores of the lake, from 2013.
• Poralu Marine helped to develop a floating solar farm to serve as a demonstrator, which was commissioned in 2019.
• The farm was extended to cover 35% of the lake’s surface, with 67,000 m² of solar panels on approximately 1,000 floats anchored to the lake’s shores.

The project is a world first at high altitudes. Ultimately, it will generate almost 23 million kWh every year.

Expertise

• Large-scale project following the success of the demonstrator installed in 2019
• Performing studies in accordance with SIA 112 standards, from the feasibility phase to project studies.
• Sizing the floating structures, anchoring system and shore connection in partnership with B&M and OCEANIDE
• Incorporating energy-related engineering design requirements: pitch, tilt
• Incorporating civil engineering-related design requirements: installing anchoring blocks and determining maximum effort limitations
• Managing the project: managing quality and associated risks
• Deploying a comprehensive budget approach at every stage of the study incorporating operating costs
• Developing a 1D tracking system to secure the photovoltaic modules in winds of over >20 m/s and improve winter productivity
• Drafting a safety policy for floating solar projects on dams in mountain environments

Gallery

Technical expertise

Because the project is located at high altitude (1810m),the challenging climate of the Alpine environment had to be taken into account in the design of the floating structure. Temperatures can plummet to -30°C, winds can reach 120km/h, the lake freezes (with ice up to 60 cm thick), and the area receives heavy snowfall (up to 50cm).

Currently, the farm covers 2,240 m². It is built on a floating aluminum alloy structure capable of withstanding the extreme conditions. The floats are made using high-density polyethylene. Romande Energie S.A. attached the solar panels to the structures, then placed them on the water as a unit.

The aircraft-grade aluminum structure requires little in the way of moorings and is attached to the bottom of the lake with weights, allowing the floating structure to rise and fall with the water.