Taking the plunge with floating solar power

The state of Ohio is taking the plunge with floating solar power projects, with one project completed, and another—the state’s largest, at 2 MW—on the way.

By Tony Kryzanowski

The business case for offsetting power costs for a variety of commercial and institutional consumers by including a renewable component like solar power continues to be strong—and companies are being very innovative in where these solar farms are being located if two new floating solar projects on water reservoirs in Ohio are any indication.

In business since 2015, Florida-based D3Energy has recently completed Ohio’s first floating solar power installation and are embarking upon building the state’s largest floating solar project for the City of Lima.

Ohio-based energy efficiency consultant MSI Utilities was instrumental in bringing together D3Energy with central Ohio water provider, Del-Co Water, in the first instance and the City of Lima with the second project.

Ray Eversole, Strategic Management Consultant with MSI Utilities, says that he has at least 10 more solar projects in Ohio at various stages of advancement on the books. Both he and D3Energy Managing Director, Stetson Tchividjian, remarked that they became aware that both Del-Co Water and the City of Lima were already interested in delving into solar power to offset their energy costs even before the successful business cases were put before them, which included their eligibility for various federal incentives and tax credits.

In both instances, because of the challenge of minimizing the footprint of a solar farm in areas where ground space is at a premium, the issues were where to site the solar farms and leveraging government incentives. Using the ample space on the surface of municipal water treatment facilities proved ideal.

The design of the Del-Co Water solar farm went even further in maximizing available above-ground space by installing solar panels on a nearby rooftop and carport as part of the overall installation.

“Del-Co had resigned themselves that they weren’t going to be able to do anything large scale when it came to renewable energy on their system,” says Tchividjian. “When MSI Utilities and D3Energy approached them about this concept of doing something on the water, they really fell in love with it because it was the perfect answer—and solution—for them.”

Located in Delaware County, Ohio, the 1.5 megawatt Del-Co water solar project’s floating array takes up about three acres of the raw water treatment plant’s surface.

He adds that floating solar arrays are proven as a viable endeavor and D3Energy has over a decade of experience working exclusively in this space, having built the most floating solar projects in the U.S. of various sizes and in a variety of climates.

Located in Delaware County, Ohio, the 1.5 megawatt (MW) Del-Co Water behind-the-meter project will offset about 50 percent of the utilities’ energy costs to operate the facility. The floating array takes up about 3 acres of the raw water treatment plant’s surface.

“The interesting thing is that because we have so much more of a compact footprint than a ground system, had they looked to do this system on the ground, they would have needed closer to eight acres of land,” says Tchividjian. “So in theory, by building on the water, they have conserved eight acres of valuable real estate there in Ohio.”

Construction of the Del-Co Water array began in early-2023 and it came online in the middle of 2024 after overcoming some delays with the local utility to gain approval to operate. Dealing with a floating solar array was a new experience for them so it took a bit longer. Construction was actually completed in late-2023. It consists of 2,921 bifacial solar panels supplied by Talesun Solar Technologies. The inverters were provided by Chint Power Systems.

	Appalachian Renewable Power was the local sub-contractor who installed the Del-Co water array for D3Energy. Energy management consultants MSI Utilities, which helps its commercial and institutional clients manage their energy consumption to reduce operational and utility costs, played a pivotal role in helping to advance both the Ohio floating solar projects.

Appalachian Renewable Power (ARP), working in both Ohio and West Virginia, was the local sub-contractor who installed the Del-Co Water array for D3Energy.

The installation is owned by Gardner Capital which has negotiated a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Del-Co Water. D3Energy helped to facilitate this arrangement and have worked with Gardner Capital many times in the past. D3Energy will continue to operate the system.

According to Eversole, in addition to playing a pivotal role in helping to advance both the Del-Co Water and City of Lima projects, MSI Utilities has been on the forefront of energy management consulting for over three decades by helping its commercial and institutional clients manage their energy consumption to reduce operational and utility costs. Over that time, brokering the inclusion of renewables to offset conventional power consumption has become a growing part of their services.

Another valuable service they provide is helping clients become aware of available grants to help offset the cost of these installations, such as arranging power purchase agreements (PPAs), helping them to partake in grants available through the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and State incentives, and taking advantage of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), while also helping them through the application process.

What’s notable with the Ohio floating solar arrays is that all the wiring is protected and above ground with only the solar panels situated on Ciel & Terre’s floating pontoons. All of the inverters, switchgear and transformers are located on land beside the array. Both of the Ohio projects were welcomed by regulators and the public because they are producing renewable energy and not consuming any land for their development, which can be a common concern for solar developments.

“We work with developers like D3Energy as well as more than 50 commodity suppliers who produce and supply energy in all deregulated markets across the U.S.,” he says. “Not only do we assist in lowering the client’s carbon footprint, we also help clients manage and budget their entire energy expenditures.”

They are currently consulting on two more floating solar projects on water reservoirs in Ohio.

The Del-Co Water site is still connected to the AEP power transmission system so that when solar power is not being generated at night, the facility reverts to power consumption from their conventional power provider. The transition, as needed throughout the day and night, takes place automatically, with solar power being drawn about 60 percent of the time.

“Floating solar enabled us to move forward with a substantial solar installation without encumbering any of our valuable ground which may be needed for future expansion,” says Glenn Marzluff, CEO of Del-Co Water. “We were also pleased with the possibility of reduced growth of algae related to sunlight reduction.” The shade provided by the floating solar array also reduces water evaporation.

Ciel & Terre’s Hydrelio floating system, a purpose-built system intended for floating solar arrays, is being used in both the Ohio installations. D3Energy is the distributor of the system in the U.S., having worked with them for the past decade.

Tchividjian says that the utility is already considering expansion of the floating array to not only offset their entire power needs, but to also become a net producer of power to the utility grid in a community solar-type endeavor, given the success of this project.

The recently-approved City of Lima 2 MW project, also being constructed by D3Energy, will float on four acres of the Twin Lakes Reservoir, next to the City’s water treatment plant. Power generated from this floating array is expected to take a significant bite out of the $200,000 annual cost the City says it takes to operate the treatment plant. It will consist of about 3,700 solar panels.

They add that building the project will cost $5.3 million, and will be significantly subsidized by a $2.4 million grant from the federal Department of Energy and $889,000 in tax credits from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, reducing the total cost to the City to only $2 million. Like the Del-Co Water project, saving valuable ground space was an issue.

D3Energy says that it will look to implement a similar team to the successful Del-Co Water project for the City of Lima array. Details will be available when final engineering has been completed.

One of the obvious questions about building a solar array on water are the nuances that exist, since water is a good conductor of electricity. Tchividjian says that Ciel & Terre’s Hydrelio floating system, which is a purpose-built system intended for floating solar arrays, is being used in both these installations and D3Energy are a distributor of the system in the U.S., having worked with them for the past decade.

Ciel & Terre describes floating solar as the third pillar of solar installations, the other two being ground-mount and rooftop systems.

The company has supplied 325 of its floating solar systems worldwide and introduced the first patented and industrialized solution to the world in 2010. It is called the Hydrelio Classic system. Recently, the company announced its new Hydrelio aiR Optim system which is an upgrade of the Classic, resisting strong winds up to 130 miles/hr and UV stabilized for 30 years. It is also described as corrosion resistant and drinking water compatible.

What’s notable with these floating solar arrays is that all the wiring is protected and above ground with only the solar panels situated on Ciel & Terre’s floating pontoons. All of the inverters, switchgear and transformers are located on land beside the array.

“It’s very similar to a ground-mount system, electrically-speaking,” says Tchividjian. “Ten years ago, folks were giving us kind of crazy looks talking about putting solar panels on water. It’s been fun to be at the forefront of this piece of the industry and really driving it forward. Now, we are seeing the fruit of that early labor really blossom because we have been able to become an industry leader in this niche part of the industry.”

In terms of cost, he adds that it really depends on the project. Taking the Del-Co Water example, if they had to purchase or dedicate three acres of land near their site, then that system would have been considerably more expensive than building it on water. In terms of pure capital expense, he says a floating system is generally a little more expensive than a ground-mount system but cheaper than a rooftop system.

Both of these projects were welcomed by regulators and the public because they are producing renewable energy and not consuming any land for their development, which is a common concern for all solar developments.