and was finally moored in place five months later. byjuly, it was supplying power to a quarter of the population in the neighbouring portel and moura regions. with a price tag of 6 million euros, the solution isn t cheap, but energy firm edp estimates the solar farm will recoup its investment in a decade. but there s a particular reason why the solar farm was built at this spot. namely, its proximity to the alqueva dam. the hydroelectric plant only used one third of the capacity of the powerline, so we have two thirds available. and then, the objective was to use that available capacity to inject an additional renewable source, in this case, solar, so we created this hybrid concept. so we combine solar and hydropower on the same powerline, sharing the same infrastructure. but there are other benefits
was built at this spot. namely, its proximity to the alqueva dam. the hydroelectric plant only used one third of the capacity of the power line, so we have two thirds available. and then, the objective was to use that available capacity to inject an additional renewable source, in this case solar, so we created this hybrid concept. so we combine solar and hydropower on the same power line, sharing the same infrastructure. but there are other benefits to having a solar platform on water. being closer to the water surfaces, we reduce the temperature of the panel and then we increase the efficiency of the panels. we observed an increase in efficiency up to 10% and annual average increase of around 4% in increase of production. large platforms like this one also cool water temperatures by shielding the surface from the sun.
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