Enel Green Power is building a photovoltaic roof over a diversion channel supplying water to the Montelupone hydroelectric power plant, in an approach it calls “solarizing” its hydro infrastructure.
Enel said this project “is our new way of combining hydropower and solar energy, which are both clean and renewable sources, with a convergence that generates a new type of hybrid, futuristic plant.”
The structure will consist of a long roof lined with solar panels, covering the canal for about 1 km, for a photovoltaic capacity of 1 MW. It will avoid the emission of about 580 tons of CO2 and prevent the consumption of about 300,000 cubic meters of methane. The panels will be the new generation variety produced by the 3Sun factory.
The Montelupone plant, on the Potenza River in the Marche region of central Italy, is the site of the first such project for the company. It will be followed by one in Narzole, Piedmont (Cuneo), which has been authorized.
The first advantage of this “solarization” of the canal is that the panels do not occupy any additional land. Moreover, the solution has a reduced impact on the landscape as it covers a man-made canal. The impact on biodiversity is also negligible. Water entering the canal from the river is filtered at the intake works, with gratings protecting the hydropower plant. Finally, the shading from the photovoltaic cover reduces evaporation, which would limit both hydropower production and irrigation withdrawal.
Enel said there is a series of side benefits. The installation of CCTV cameras will be a deterrent against panel theft but also against illegal water withdrawals and waste spills. Fiber-optic cabling for this facility will also enable placement of additional hydraulic sensors, which will help improve the safety of the canal. If water leaks are detected, an automatic mechanism will be triggered immediately and shut down the flow upstream, limiting any risk of flooding. And the bank upgrades required to install the cover will improve hydraulic safety. Enel also agreed with the municipality of Montelupone to plant an equivalent number of trees to those felled, in a safer area.
Enel said its intention is to explore the full potential of its hydropower infrastructure. The company plans to develop similar projects wherever possible, not excluding different hybridizations, because hydropower plants offer other large surfaces that are “free” and suitable for the installation of solar panels. Examples include dams and the load-collection tanks immediately upstream of the penstocks at hydropower plants (in this case with floating photovoltaic systems).
But the overall goal is a long series of hybridizations among various types of technologies from clean sources to create greater environmental, economic and social sustainability.
Enel Green Power, within the Enel Group, develops and operates renewable energy plants worldwide and is present in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. The company has a total capacity of around 54 GW and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric power.
