SBIR Phase I: Feasibility investigation for a self-buoyant solar panel

SBIR 第一阶段：自浮式太阳能电池板的可行性研究

• 批准号: 2136652
• 负责人: Christopher Barnes
• 金额: $ 25.58万
• 依托单位: TAKA SOLAR CORPORATION
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-15 至 2024-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2136652&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Feasibility; investigation; self

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to bring to market a novel self-buoyant panel that will enable floating photovoltaics (FPV) to play an important role in achieving the Nation’s clean energy goals. The Federal Solar Futures Study describes a goal to generate over 40% of the nation’s electricity using solar, which would require a 10x increase. However, this would require 10 million acres by 2050 – an area larger than New Jersey. FPV systems can directly mitigate land displacement. According to NREL, the 24,419 US bodies of water have a technical potential of over 300 GW. The barrier to scaling deployments is the cost premium of the artificial island needed to support panels, which can increase system costs by 30% compared to ground-mounted utility scale solar arrays. The proposed solar panel design floats uses sealed photovoltaic (PV) glass tubes and no mounting hardware to solve the cost premium. Further, the PV tubes track the sun like 1-axis trackers, but with no moving parts, to increase energy yield by 10-20%. These systems could become the cheapest form of solar. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to address the key barriers to commercialization of the proposed FPV technology. Realizing the market and impact potential of this solution requires retiring multiple risks and achieving several milestones that are address in the proposed project. The company will refine and test functional tubes that are hermetically sealed at the ends to maintain floatation and protect the solar cells. The company will team with one of the premier US marine renewable energy research institutions, to study multiple aspects of the design. First, the project will focus on a robust structural system that meets operating requirements. The project will research using simulation tools the mooring system and panel configurations needed for a range of wave and wind conditions. Additionally, a key element of a self-buoyant approach requires knowledge of potential biological factors that can impact solar production and panel performance. Accordingly, this investigation will also study the potential effects of biofilms and other environmental factors on PV tubes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是将一种新型自浮式面板推向市场，该面板将使浮动光伏 (FPV) 在实现国家清洁能源目标中发挥重要作用。太阳能未来研究描述了一个目标，即利用太阳能发电占全国 40% 以上，这需要增加 10 倍，然而，到 2050 年，这将需要 1000 万英亩的土地——比 New 还要大。 FPV 系统可以直接缓解陆地位移。根据 NREL，美国 24,419 个水域的技术潜力超过 300 GW。与地面安装的公用事业规模太阳能电池阵列相比，系统成本降低了 30%。拟议的太阳能电池板设计采用密封光伏 (PV) 玻璃管，无需安装硬件，可解决光伏成本溢价问题。管子像单轴跟踪器一样跟踪太阳，但没有移动部件，可以将能源产量提高 10-20%。该 SBIR 第一阶段项目旨在解决太阳能商业化的关键障碍。实现该解决方案的市场和影响潜力需要消除多种风险并实现拟议项目中解决的几个里程碑。该公司将改进和测试末端密封的功能管，以保持漂浮和稳定。该公司将与美国领先的海洋可再生能源研究机构之一合作，研究设计的多个方面，首先，该项目将重点研究满足操作要求的坚固结构系统。此外，自浮式方法的一个关键要素需要了解可能影响太阳能发电和电池板性能的潜在生物因素。研究生物膜和其他环境因素的潜在影响该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。