A marine photovoltaic platform

Abstract

An offshore photovoltaic platform comprises a floating platform, a carrier platform supported above the floating platform by a plurality of connecting columns for carrying photovoltaic modules mounted on top of the carrier platform, wherein the floating platform is a hollow shell made of concrete.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of marine photovoltaic technology, and more specifically to a marine photovoltaic platform. Background Technology

[0002] my country boasts a vast territory, a long coastline, and abundant solar resources. In 2021, China continued to lead the world in cumulative photovoltaic (PV) installations with 306.9 GW, accounting for nearly one-third of the global total. With the rapid development of the PV industry, its applications are becoming increasingly widespread, with floating PV being one such example. Due to its advantages of not occupying land resources and possessing high power generation and high added value, floating PV is hailed as "the most effective lever to accelerate the transition to a solar-driven future" among new energy utilization methods. After inland floating PV development faced significant limitations, offshore PV is poised for large-scale development. However, compared to onshore PV, the marine environment in which offshore PV operates is far more challenging.

[0003] Currently, there are no mature solutions for the economic viability, survivability, and durability of offshore photovoltaic systems, either domestically or internationally. Existing technologies are mostly modified from prefabricated HDPE floating bodies for inland water photovoltaic systems. Photovoltaic modules and equipment are greatly affected by waves and marine climate, and cannot meet the durability and survivability requirements in harsh marine environments. On the other hand, using all-steel floating bodies is too costly and cannot meet the economic requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an offshore photovoltaic platform that can effectively reduce the impact of the marine environment on the durability of photovoltaic equipment and reduce the construction cost of offshore floating photovoltaic platforms.

[0005] The aforementioned offshore photovoltaic platform includes a floating platform, a carrier platform, and multiple connecting columns. The carrier platform is supported above the floating platform by the multiple connecting columns and is used to carry photovoltaic modules. The photovoltaic modules are installed on the top of the carrier platform. The floating platform is a hollow shell made of concrete.

[0006] In one or more embodiments, the housing is an annular housing to form a damping pool on its inner side.

[0007] In one or more embodiments, the height of the connecting column is 4m to 6m.

[0008] In one or more embodiments, the housing has multiple independent chambers inside, and the housing has multiple water inlets to inject water into the multiple chambers respectively.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, the offshore photovoltaic platform further comprises an anchoring system, the anchoring system comprising an anchor chain and an anchor, one end of the anchor chain being connected with the floating platform through an anchor chain connector, and the other end being connected with the anchor.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the offshore photovoltaic platform further comprises a bitt, the bitt being arranged on the floating platform.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the outer side of the carrier platform is provided with a guardrail and a ladder.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, the top of the carrier platform is further provided with a photovoltaic electrical device, the photovoltaic electrical device being electrically connected with the photovoltaic module.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, one end of each of the plurality of connecting columns is welded to the carrier platform.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the floating platform is provided with a plurality of connecting holes, and the other end of each of the plurality of connecting columns is grouted into the plurality of connecting holes.

[0015] The offshore photovoltaic platform described above is developed based on a marine composite multi-layer structure, and a plurality of connecting columns are used to support a carrier platform at a height away from the sea surface, so that the carrier platform located at the upper layer can be lifted to the atmospheric zone, effectively reducing the durability of the photovoltaic modules installed thereon and other equipment installed on the carrier platform, and the carrier platform can adopt a steel frame structure. The floating platform located at the lower layer is in the splash zone and the water level fluctuation zone, and adopts a hollow concrete structure. Due to the economy and low corrosion cost of the concrete material, the construction cost of the floating platform can be effectively reduced. In addition, since the carrier platform is away from the sea surface, the safety of the maintenance personnel landing for maintenance operation is greatly improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] The above and other features, properties, and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by describing in detail the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an offshore photovoltaic platform according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2 is a side view of an offshore photovoltaic platform according to an embodiment.

[0019] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a floating platform according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The application will be further described below in connection with specific embodiments and drawings, and more details are set forth in the following description in order to fully understand the application, but the application can be implemented in many other ways different from the description, and those skilled in the art can make similar generalizations and deductions according to the actual application without departing from the concept of the application, and therefore the protection scope of the application should not be limited by the content of the specific embodiments. It should be noted that these and subsequent other drawings are only examples, and are not drawn according to the same scale, and should not be used as a limitation on the actual claimed protection scope of the application.

[0021] In the field of waterborne photovoltaic, the current domestic floating photovoltaic platform is mainly suitable for closed water areas such as lakes and reservoirs. The wind and wave conditions of such closed water environment are small, and the water surface is mostly calm, so it is not suitable for the sea environment with larger wind and wave conditions. The current offshore photovoltaic components and equipment have poor wind and wave resistance, are easily affected by sea waves, and cause erosion of the platform structure and even photovoltaic equipment, affecting the power generation efficiency and service life of the photovoltaic equipment. If a full-steel floating body with high erosion resistance is used, the cost of the photovoltaic platform will be greatly increased.

[0022] To solve one or more of the above problems, the application provides an offshore photovoltaic platform, which can effectively reduce the durability of photovoltaic equipment in the marine environment and reduce the construction cost of the offshore floating photovoltaic platform.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 An offshore photovoltaic platform, comprising a floating body platform 2, a carrier platform 1 and a plurality of connecting columns 3, the carrier platform 1 is supported above the floating body platform 2 by the plurality of connecting columns 3, and is used to carry photovoltaic components 10, the photovoltaic components 10 are installed on the top of the carrier platform 1, wherein the floating body platform 2 is a hollow shell, and the shell is made of concrete.

[0024] The above offshore photovoltaic platform is developed based on a marine composite multilayer structure, the carrier platform 1 is supported at a height away from the sea surface by the plurality of connecting columns 3, so that the carrier platform 1 located in the upper layer can be lifted to the atmospheric zone, effectively reducing the durability of the photovoltaic components 10 installed thereon and other equipment installed on the carrier platform 1 in the marine environment. The carrier platform 1 can adopt a steel frame structure, the floating body platform 2 located in the lower layer is in the splash zone and the water level fluctuation zone, and adopts a hollow concrete structure. Due to the economy and low corrosion cost of the concrete material, the construction cost of the floating body platform 2 can be effectively reduced. In addition, since the carrier platform 1 is away from the sea surface, the safety of the operation and maintenance personnel landing for operation and maintenance is greatly improved.

[0025] Compared with the photovoltaic platform adopting the all-steel structure, the hollow concrete structure has a construction cost of 50% of the steel structure and a corrosion prevention cost of 40% of the steel structure. The corrosion prevention cost refers to the cost required for the corrosion prevention treatment of the floating platform. Specifically, the concrete structure can meet the corrosion prevention requirements of the marine environment by using only the silane impregnation coating corrosion prevention method, while the steel structure needs to use heavy-duty corrosion coating in combination with cathodic protection or impressed current to meet the corrosion prevention requirements of the marine environment.

[0026] In one or more embodiments, the shell is a ring-shaped shell to form a damping pool inside it. For details, please refer to Figure 3 The shells inside the floating platform 2 are connected to each other to form a hollow structure. The inner circumferential section (the section perpendicular to the central axis of the floating platform 2) of the shell is a quadrilateral with chamfer, and part of the seawater on the sea surface is surrounded therein to form a damping pool. By forming the damping pool inside the floating platform 2, the inside and outside of the damping pool are impacted by the sea waves under the condition of wind and wave, the stress on the inside and outside of the floating platform is more balanced, the swing range of the offshore photovoltaic platform under the condition of wind and wave is reduced, and the stability of the offshore photovoltaic platform is improved.

[0027] In a specific embodiment, the damping pool can be formed by the hollow concrete structure of the floating platform 2. The inside of the shell of the floating platform 2 can also be provided with horizontal and vertical grids to further increase the resistance of the seawater in the damping pool. When the floating platform 2 is impacted by the sea waves, the water inside and outside the damping pool will have a blocking effect, improving the movement state of the floating platform 2 under different water potentials, reducing the influence of waves on the floating state of the floating platform, effectively reducing the waves and eddies raised by the sea traffic, and making the offshore photovoltaic platform more peaceful and safe.

[0028] In one or more embodiments, the inside of the shell has a plurality of independent chambers, and a plurality of water injection openings are formed on the shell to respectively inject water into the plurality of chambers. By providing a plurality of independent chambers in the inside of the shell of the floating platform 2, the chambers are not connected to each other, and each chamber is provided with a water injection opening. Water can be injected into different chambers according to the calculation results of the floating center of gravity, so as to control the overall weight and center of gravity of the offshore photovoltaic platform and ensure the stability of the structure.

[0029] The floating center of gravity refers to a center around which the offshore floating structure (i.e., the floating platform 2) moves when it rises and falls with the waves. This center depends on the mass distribution of the floating body. In different embodiments, the mass distribution of the floating platform 2 and the position of the floating center of gravity can be adjusted by injecting water into the chambers in the inside of the shell of the floating platform 2, so as to ensure the stability of the structure.

[0030] In one or more embodiments, the height of the connecting column 3 is 4m-6m, by increasing the air gap between the upper carrier platform 1 and the sea level from the current industry common 0.5m-1m to 4m-6m, the photovoltaic module 10 and other electrical equipment installed on the carrier platform 1 are in the anti-corrosion atmospheric zone, which can greatly improve the durability of the photovoltaic module 10 and other equipment in the marine environment, and improve the safety of the landing operation of the operation and maintenance personnel.

[0031] In Figure 1 In one specific embodiment, the offshore photovoltaic platform further comprises an anchoring system, the anchoring system comprises an anchor chain 7 and an anchor (not shown in the figure), one end of the anchor chain 7 is connected with the floating platform 2 through the anchor chain connector 6, and the other end is connected with the anchor. The anchor chain connector 6 can be an anchor ring. The offshore photovoltaic platform further comprises a mooring column 4, which is arranged on the floating platform 2.

[0032] The photovoltaic electrical equipment 9 is installed on the top of the carrier platform 1, and the photovoltaic electrical equipment 9 can include inverter, combiner box and other equipment, which are electrically connected with the photovoltaic module 10. The outer side of the carrier platform 1 is also provided with a guardrail 8 and a ladder 5, which further improves the safety of the operation of the operation and maintenance personnel.

[0033] In the embodiment, one end of the plurality of connecting columns 3 is welded to the carrier platform 1, a plurality of connecting holes 11 are formed in the floating platform 2, and the other end of the plurality of connecting columns 3 is connected to the plurality of connecting holes 11 by grouting. This connection method can tightly connect the two structures with different manufacturing and production processes of the upper steel structure carrier platform 1 and the lower reinforced concrete structure floating platform 2 through post-connection, greatly reducing the complexity of production. In other embodiments, other connection methods can be used between the connecting column 3 and the carrier platform 2 and the floating platform 1, for example, a steel pipe skeleton can be arranged in the lower concrete structure floating platform 2, and the connecting column 3 is directly welded to the steel pipe skeleton.

[0034] The following will be described in combination with Figure 1 The layout method of the offshore photovoltaic platform provided in the present application will be described.

[0035] First, the carrier platform 1 and the floating platform 2 are prefabricated on land in a shipyard or port, and then the connecting holes 11 and the connecting columns 3 are connected by welding and grouting connection method, and the installation between the floating platform 2 and the connecting column 3 is completed. The mooring column 4, the anchor chain connector 6 and one end of the anchor chain 7 are installed to the floating platform 2, and the guardrail 8, the ladder 5, the photovoltaic electrical equipment 9 and the photovoltaic module 10 are installed to the carrier platform 1. The whole offshore photovoltaic platform is transported to the designated sea area by tugboat, the anchor structure connected with the other end of the anchor chain 7 is thrown to the seabed, the upper electrical system is connected to the submarine cable, and the equipment layout is completed.

[0036] Although the present application has been disclosed in its preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is not intended to limit the present application thereto, and any person skilled in the art can make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present application without departing from the technical solutions of the present application, all fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An offshore photovoltaic platform, characterized in that, It includes a floating platform, a carrier platform, and multiple connecting columns. The carrier platform is supported above the floating platform by the multiple connecting columns and is used to carry photovoltaic modules. The photovoltaic modules are installed on the top of the carrier platform. The floating platform is a hollow shell made of concrete. The shell is an annular shell to form a damping pool on its inner side. The shell has multiple independent chambers inside and multiple water inlets are provided on the shell to inject water into the multiple chambers respectively. The height of the connecting column is 4m to 6m.

2. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The offshore photovoltaic platform also includes an anchoring system, which includes an anchor chain and an anchor. One end of the anchor chain is connected to the floating platform via an anchor chain connector, and the other end is connected to the anchor.

3. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The offshore photovoltaic platform also includes a mooring bollard, which is installed on the floating platform.

4. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The outer side of the carrier platform is equipped with guardrails and ladders.

5. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the carrier platform is also equipped with photovoltaic electrical equipment, which is electrically connected to the photovoltaic module.

6. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that, One end of each of the connecting posts is welded to the carrier platform.

7. The offshore photovoltaic platform as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The floating platform has multiple connection holes, and the other ends of the multiple connecting columns are grouted and connected to the multiple connection holes.

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