Numerical model of the heat transfer in an offshore photovoltaic panel. Application to the Galician cost (northwest Spain)

Solar energy is gaining special importance in the recent years. The installed power has been increasing over the years and nowadays solar energy constitutes a relevant part of the renewable energy contribution. One of the handicaps of photovoltaic panels is the refrigeration process. The panels are susceptible to overheating and this leads to efficiency reductions. In order to solve this issue, a recent tendency consists on installing the photovoltaic panels offshore, where the refrigeration is considerably more efficient and thus the power generation is improved. According to this, the present work proposes a numerical model to analyze the refrigeration of an offshore photovoltaic panel. A CFD "Computational Fluid Dynamics" procedure was carried out to analyze both the refrigeration process and the influence of the panels on the ecosystem.