Enhancing Reservoir Benefits through Floating Photovoltaic Development: A Case Study of Sutami Reservoir, Indonesia
DOI:
10.29303/jppipa.v12i9.15797Published:
2026-09-30Downloads
Abstract
Reservoirs that already support hydropower and water supply are increasingly viewed as sites for floating photovoltaic (FPV) development, a pairing that speaks directly to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). Taking Sutami Reservoir in East Java as a case, this study examines an FPV layout occupying 5% of the reservoir's normal water surface area (602.499,80 m²), with attention to electricity yield, evaporation-related water savings, and financial viability. Energy output was estimated from irradiance and module-efficiency parameters, evaporation savings were derived from the change in exposed surface area, and feasibility was judged through four standard indicators: Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost ratio (B/C), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Payback Period (PP). At an installed capacity 100 MWp, the system is projected to generate 175.80 GWh annually—about 23,89% of the existing hydropower plant's output—while conserving roughly 2,48 million m³ of water per year, a 54,61% gain in raw-water benefit. The economic analysis is less clear-cut: NPV comes to Rp 26,03 billion and B/C reaches 1,01, but IRR sits at only 7,1% and payback stretches to 23,30 years against a 30-year assumed project life—leaving roughly seven years of net benefit at the end, a narrower window than the headline numbers suggest. Taken together, the results point to real technical benefits from combining energy generation with water conservation at Sutami Reservoir, though the thin economic margin warrants a closer sensitivity analysis before the project moves toward implementation
Keywords:
Evaporation reduction Floating photovoltaic Renewable energy Reservoir operation Water conservationReferences
Abdelal, Q. (2021). Floating PV; an assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 16(3), 732–739. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctab001
Esparza, I., Olábarri Candela, Á., Huang, L., Yang, Y., Budiono, C., Riyadi, S., Hetharia, W., Hantoro, R., Setyawan, D., Utama, I. K. A. P., Wood, T., & Luo, Z. (2024). Floating PV Systems as an Alternative Power Source: Case Study on Three Representative Islands of Indonesia. Sustainability, 16(3), 1345. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031345
Gonzalez Sanchez, R., Kougias, I., Moner-Girona, M., Fahl, F., & Jäger-Waldau, A. (2021). Assessment of floating solar photovoltaics potential in existing hydropower reservoirs in Africa. Renewable Energy, 169, 687–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.01.041
Jin, Y., Hu, S., Ziegler, A. D., Gibson, L., Campbell, J. E., Xu, R., Chen, D., Zhu, K., Zheng, Y., Ye, B., Ye, F., & Zeng, Z. (2023). Energy production and water savings from floating solar photovoltaics on global reservoirs. Nature Sustainability, 6(7), 865–874. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01089-6
Kakoulaki, G., Gonzalez Sanchez, R., Gracia Amillo, A., Szabo, S., De Felice, M., Farinosi, F., De Felice, L., Bisselink, B., Seliger, R., Kougias, I., & Jaeger-Waldau, A. (2023). Benefits of pairing floating solar photovoltaics with hydropower reservoirs in Europe. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 171, 112989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112989
Kassem, Y., Gökçekuş, H., & Gökçekuş, R. (2024). Towards Sustainable Energy Solutions: Evaluating the Impact of Floating PV Systems in Reducing Water Evaporation and Enhancing Energy Production in Northern Cyprus. Energies, 17(21), 5300. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17215300
Kim, S.-M., Oh, M., & Park, H.-D. (2019). Analysis and Prioritization of the Floating Photovoltaic System Potential for Reservoirs in Korea. Applied Sciences, 9(3), 395. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9030395
Lee, N., Grunwald, U., Rosenlieb, E., Mirletz, H., Aznar, A., Spencer, R., & Cox, S. (2020). Hybrid floating solar photovoltaics-hydropower systems: Benefits and global assessment of technical potential. Renewable Energy, 162, 1415–1427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.08.080
Ma, G., Zhang, C., Chen, H., Hou, W., Wang, W., & Zhang, J. (2024). Hydrodynamic analysis of floating photovoltaic system constrained with rigid connectors. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 29920. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-81245-w
Micheli, L., Sepúlveda-Vélez, F. A., & Talavera, D. L. (2024). Impact of variable economic conditions on the cost of energy and the economic viability of floating photovoltaics. Heliyon, 10(12), e32354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32354
Nainggolan, W. S., Wibawa, U., & Wijono. (2024). Analisis Desain Pembangunan PLTS Terapung di Danau Toba: Studi pada Aspek Teknik, Ekonomi, dan Lingkungan. Jurnal Mahasiswa TEUB. Retrieved from https://garuda.kemdiktisaintek.go.id/documents/detail/4357092
Oeishee, M. H., & Rahman, M. M. (2026). A Review of Floating Photovoltaic Systems: Prospects, Challenges, and Sustainability Considerations. Global Challenges, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.202500581
Osman, A. I., Chen, L., Yang, M., Msigwa, G., Farghali, M., Fawzy, S., Rooney, D. W., & Yap, P.-S. (2023). Cost, environmental impact, and resilience of renewable energy under a changing climate: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 21(2), 741–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01532-8
Ramanan, C. J., Lim, K. H., Kurnia, J. C., Roy, S., Bora, B. J., & Medhi, B. J. (2024). Towards sustainable power generation: Recent advancements in floating photovoltaic technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 194, 114322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.114322
Ravichandran, N., Fayek, H. H., & Rusu, E. (2021). Emerging Floating Photovoltaic System—Case Studies High Dam and Aswan Reservoir in Egypt. Processes, 9(6), 1005. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061005
Ravichandran, N., Ravichandran, N., & Panneerselvam, B. (2022). Floating photovoltaic system for Indian artificial reservoirs—an effective approach to reduce evaporation and carbon emission. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 19(8), 7951–7968. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03686-4
Singh, N. K., Goswami, A., & Sadhu, P. K. (2023). Energy economics and environmental assessment of hybrid hydel-floating solar photovoltaic systems for cost-effective low-carbon clean energy generation. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 25(4), 1339–1360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-022-02448-1
Spencer, R. S., Macknick, J., Aznar, A., Warren, A., & Reese, M. O. (2019). Floating Photovoltaic Systems: Assessing the Technical Potential of Photovoltaic Systems on Man-Made Water Bodies in the Continental United States. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(3), 1680–1689. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b04735
Sujay, P. S., Wagh, M. M., & Shinde, N. N. (2017). A Review on Floating Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 8(6), 789–794. Retrieved from http://www.ijser.org
Sukarso, A. P., & Kim, K. N. (2020). Cooling Effect on the Floating Solar PV: Performance and Economic Analysis on the Case of West Java Province in Indonesia. Energies, 13(9), 2126. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13092126
Xu, P., Zhang, Z., Li, S., Song, Q., & Liu, W. (2024). Numerical Investigation into the Dynamic Responses of Floating Photovoltaic Platform and Mooring Line Structures under Freak Waves. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 12(1), 96. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12010096
Yang, P., Chua, L. H. C., Irvine, K. N., Nguyen, M. T., & Low, E.-W. (2022). Impacts of a floating photovoltaic system on temperature and water quality in a shallow tropical reservoir. Limnology, 23(3), 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-022-00698-y
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ida I Dewa Agung Ayu Prabawanti, Pitojo Tri Juwono, Andre Primantyo Hendrawan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY License). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
