INGECID’s commitment to innovation has led us to design and patent a novel structure that provides a solution to one the great challenges of solar energy, helping to boost the use of green energies. A suspended structure allows solar panels to be installed in non-conventional urban spaces.

One of the main challenges for the use of solar power is the large area of land required. Solar canals are one of the solutions developed to tackle this challenge but existing designs installed over canals use rigid structures and are limited by the small size of the spans.  

INGECID has drawn on its knowledge of multiple sectors and its innovative approach to address this problem by optimizing existing solar canal solutions through the application of technologies from a different field: bridge engineering.

The design involves a flexible and efficient structure that allows large areas to be covered without compromising the stability or performance of the solar panels and without using up land. It allows much wider spans than current systems, significantly increasing the panel surface area and thus the power obtained. 

INGECID has recently been granted the patent for this design, certifying the solution’s originality and value and affirming its potential for transforming the renewable energy sector.

Key advantages of the system:

• Eliminates span size limits for above-water solar structures.
• Lower costs compared to conventional solar canal systems.
• Solid, safe structure, thanks to engineering calculations performed on the support systems, cables and other elements.
• More efficient structures that blend in aesthetically.

This project was one of the selected works presented at the V Ibero-American Forum on PPI and Open Innovation, held in 2023 in Valencia, demonstrating its potential to transform how we use renewable energy in our cities. The model presented at the forum showed how the solution could be installed over the former bed of the River Turia.

INGECID identifies the challenges of the future and develops disruptive solutions that are both functional and contribute to creating more sustainable urban environments.

Click here  for more technical information about the patent.