Study of Massive Floating Solar Panels over Lake Nasser

Abstract

Recently, the technology of floating photovoltaic panels has demonstrated several advantages over land installations, including faster deployment, less maintenance cost, and higher efficiency. Lake Nasser is the second largest man-made freshwater lake in the world with a surface area of almost 5000 square km. Being in one of the hottest areas in the world, evaporation of water causes loss of very precious and scarce resources: freshwater. Fortunately, the lake is also located in a very rich area in solar energy. This paper presents a study to utilize Lake Nasser’s surface for massive production of solar energy, while significantly reducing the loss of water by evaporation from the lake surface. The project has the potential to be one of the largest producers of low-cost clean electric energy in the world for Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially with the ongoing efforts to connect the North African countries with the European super power grid. The study shows that the first phase of the project is expected to deliver about 16% of European need of electricity and save about 3 billion m3 of freshwater. The subsequent phases will provide low-cost green energy to replace the combustible fuels in Europe by 2045, while saving up to 10-12 billion m3 of freshwater lost by evaporation from Lake Nasser.