Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.
Shining a Light on Foam-Based Floating Solar Panels and their Interactions with a Body of Water in Canada
My research focuses on improving the materials used to float photovoltaic panels on bodies of water (FPV) to limit water evaporation. From my preliminary results, installing solar panels on water surfaces produces 15% more energy than solar panels installed on land with the same configuration, and at the same time is 90% more efficient in preventing evaporation. However, we know little about the interactions between water and the different materials used for FPV. Such interactions must be assessed given the current demand for green electricity because any systems that produce power at the expense of water quality and availability are nevertheless detrimental to human needs. My research aims to understand how foam-based flexible FPV operate in different water conditions in Canada, including freezing weather, and their effect on water quality to ensure that the technology continues to provide viable green energy while also maintaining our water availability.
Koami Soulemane Hayibo
PhD candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Faculty of Engineering - Western University
Supervisor
Joshua Pearce
Koami Soulemane Hayibo, MSc, is a Togolese national who is pursuing his PhD degree in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Western University. His area of focus is renewable energy sources with a particular interest in solar PV systems. At Western, Koami has participated in several research projects including the design of wood-racking for solar PV on agrivoltaics farms, a wood-based solar carport, and the use of PV to make cryptocurrencies a sustainable banking endeavor. Koami has a good understanding of solar PV system design and installation and is focusing his Ph.D. on studying the feasibility of flexible floating PV in Canada. Before joining Western, Koami obtained his Master’s degree at Michigan Tech where he conducted research on the pricing of solar energy in the U.S. and investigated how solar panels can be used to save water in arid regions. He previously used to train solar panels installers and counsel young innovators that have local solutions for energy access challenges in Africa. Koami is a Fulbright Fellow Alumni and is involved in community service at Western University. He volunteers at the International and Exchange Student Center where he facilitates the transition of international students into the Canadian culture.
You can connect with Koami on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/haysoul/, and on Appropedia at https://www.appropedia.org/User:Khayibo.
View Koami's work as it appears in the Inspiring Minds Digital Collection: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/413/.