Design of floating photovoltaic power plant and its environmental effects in different stages: A review

With the accelerated development of clean energies for carbon emission reduction, floating photovoltaic (FPV) has become an emerging solution. With its advantages of saving land, suppressing evaporation, and improving power generation efficiency, it has attracted the attention of the global clean energy field. According to the available surface area of artificial water bodies worldwide and system assumptions, the maximum global technical potential of FPV power plants is estimated to be 1000 GW. As FPV interacts tightly with the constructed water area, design of FPV is still lacking in theory, data, and experience. Environmental effects of FPV should also be clarified. This article introduces the current FPV power plant construction and future development trends. The site selection conditions of FPV power plant, the design elements of the upper power generation structure, and the overall characteristics of different types of lower floating structures are summarized. Finally, the complex interaction between the FPV power plant and the ecological environment is explained in terms of construction and operation. This review has a significant reference value for the design and construction of FPV power plants and the formulation of related construction codes.