Abstract
Renewable energy is the cornerstone of our future energy needs. In particular, solar energy is being
utilized at a faster pace than ever. Floating Solar Photovoltaics (FSPV) has recently gained traction as a
suitable alternative of land-based large scale PV installation. It is a promising technology to utilize water
surfaces for placing solar plants. Not only it utilizes the water as real estate but it has several other
advantages as well. For example, FSPV can use the existing transmission and distribution infrastructure
that is the part of hydroelectric power plants. In this paper, we evaluate an FSPV plant and its integration
with the existing hydroelectric power station of a small reservoir in Pakistan. We have investigated the
500 kV, 132 kV and 11 kV voltage levels for the integration of FSPV plant. Moreover, we have devised a
hydro-solar optimization model for the efficient utilization of energy. The combined system consisting of
hydroelectric and 200 MWp FSPV produces more than 3.5% additional power overall when compared
with production of only hydroelectric power. More importantly the FSPV generation coincides with the
daily mid-day peak load thus works as a peaker plant for the national grid.