The largest solar farm

scale solar farm designed above a wastewater treatment pond has become the first floating photovoltaic project – and the first megawatt-scale solar system – confirmed for New Zealand. Funded and hosted by the Watercare water service and delivered by Vector PowerSmart, the photovoltaic field will be floated in the Rosedale wastewater treatment pond in Auckland.

According to Vector, the project will have more than doubled dimensions compared to the largest solar array in the country and will present over 2,700 panels and 3,000 floating pontoons

To integrate electricity from the grid and cogeneration from biogas, which is generated at the site by wastewater treatment. Electricity is used for pumping and aeration of natural bacteria that help break down waste as part of the treatment process.
Floatovoltaics

Vector Group CEO Simon Mackenzie and Watercare’s counterpart Raveen Jaduram said the system will mark a series of records for New Zealand in terms of size and type of installation. “Even the largest systems are already widespread abroad and with costs outside Australia of costs ranging from four to five cents per kilowatt hour [0.027 to 0.034 USD], when that scale arrives here we will see the true potential of solar to establish a new cap on the wholesale market,

which in recent days has been about double that, “said Mackenzie.
For the water service, the project represents an important step towards the goal of reducing energy consumption by 8 GWh by 2022 and making the energy of the Mangere and Rosedale wastewater treatment plants self-sufficient by 2025. ” As a major energy user, it is important that we look for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and become more self-sufficient, “said Jadurum. “Innovative solutions like this, in addition to wastewater ponds, are a smart way to reduce operating costs.”

With the floating photovoltaic that reaches maturity and a growing number of solar markets that open up to technology, the growth trajectory of “floatovolatica” is pronounced. The scarcity of land, the reduction of the costs of photovoltaic components and the growth of double-sided technology are among the reasons why the technology is taking off.
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n a report released in November, the World Bank stated that the global floating operational photovoltaic capacity exceeded 1.1 GW and noted that the addition of floating solar energy to hydroelectric power plants improved their flexibility by iregion of Oceania have the potential for 5 GW of solar energy fluctuating on fresh water, artificial reservoirs under conservative hypothesis and up to 50 GW in the most optimistic scenario.

Despite its enormous potential, the floating solar photovoltaic market in neighboring Australia is still in its initial phase. The nation’s largest floating solar farm to date – a 100 kW plant – was installed on an overflow pond at the eastern Lismore wastewater treatment plant and launched last year. The Lismore plant is also the first community-funded Australian solar farm owned by the council.