Analysis of the potential for use of floating solar panels on Naghlo hydropower dam

Abstract

The water and energy challenges have become a big concern in Afghanistan that need to be addressed cooperatively. One of the challenges in the country is electricity generation, and a small part of it is produced in the country, so there are a huge burden and cost to meet the remaining electricity need. Over years and without sustainable management almost all of the dams in Afghanistan lost their effective life due to reservoir sedimentation that led to the reduced reliability of water and power supply. On the other hand, Global warming and high temperature have a direct impact on the number of water sources. Since Afghanistan is located in an Arid to a semi-arid climate that is characterized by the high value of annual evaporation where the precipitation is less than annual evaporation, besides other forms of losses, its surface water is lost through evaporation. On the other hand, one of the challenges in the country is electricity generation, and a small part of it is produced in the country, so there are a huge burden and cost to meet the remaining electricity needs. One of the approaches that can meet both challenges simultaneously is the use of floating solar panels. It has significant advantages over the ground-based type of solar panels. These benefits include reducing water evaporation, improving water quality by reducing the growth of algae, and high solar panel performance. This paper aims at illustrating the potential for use of floating solar panels to generate power and the impact of floating solar panels installation on preventing surface water evaporation on Naghlo Dam.