Water treatment powered by a floating solar system

Australian sustainable infrastructure company Infratech Industries has sold its floating solar system to the City of Holtville, California, where it will power the city’s new water treatment facility. The 1 MW system — which includes 276 rafts, 3576 panels and 12 treatment pumps — is expected to generate an estimated 20% more power than a fixed land-based system.

Holtville is known as the ‘Winter Salad Bowl’ of the United States, with the agricultural heartland relied on to produce more than 80 crops. Holtville Council Member David Bradshaw said the new solar system will enable Holtville to save valuable agricultural space for farming while simultaneously reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.

“Our decision to use Infratech’s floating solar system means we are not losing valuable farmland to massive solar farms; we can use three existing ponds and save our soil for increasing our capacity to produce crops,” he said.

With Holtville situated near the San Andreas Fault, any energy infrastructure has to be able to withstand earthquakes and tremors. With Infratech’s system able to float on water — and therefore it can shift on the surface in the instance of tremors — and purpose-built and installed to withstand waves, Holtville is able to ensure the availability of its water supply and the energy needed to treat it during a crisis.

Additionally, the floating solar system will reduce evaporation of the town’s drinking water and also decrease its reliance on chemicals to treat the water. As the system provides shade for the water, the photosynthesis process that creates blue-green algae is limited while consequently keeping the surface of the water cool and further raising the quality.

“We’re in the desert, and we lose more than five feet of water a year to evaporation while typically only receiving around three inches of rain annually. Also, our main source of water, the Colorado River via the Hoover Dam, is currently in drought,” he said. “Infratech’s platform will reduce evaporation as it reflects sunlight off the water, while treating the water and reducing our need for chemicals such as chlorine.

“Our residents use the water for drinking and irrigation, so this installation means the quality and taste of that water will improve while also ensuring we are on our way to meeting California’s renewable energy target of 50% by 2030.”

The Holtville announcement follows Infratech’s successful deployment in 2015 of a floating solar system in Jamestown, South Australia. The Jamestown system powers the council’s water treatment facility.

Image caption: The Infratech floating solar system in Jamestown, South Australia.