Clean Power + Clean Water
with BioHaven® FPV
BioHaven Floating Islands Protect & Enhance Floating Solar Assets
These BioHaven modules are being installed in a Wake Park, to dampen waves and reduce algae problems.
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The versatile BioHaven® Floating Island has a new application, Floating Solar. As perimeter protection for FPV installations, it provides wave-dampening to prevent damage to the panels, and offers many ecological and aesthetic benefits besides. With additional engineering, it can perform as the pontoon itself.
BioHaven® Floating Islands are floating mats or platforms that act as a floating wetland. They have been successfully used to fix problems with water for over 15 years. They have been used to treat lakes with algae blooms and odors, wastewater lagoons and stormwater ponds. As floating breakwaters, they protect coastlines from wave damage. The largest BioHaven launched in the US - almost an acre - provided bird nesting habitat. Some BioHavens support small buildings and tonnes of gravel. Today's BioHavens are long-lasting and resilient. Partnered with the most advanced anchoring and tethering solutions, they stand up to the harshest conditions, in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. |
A BioHaven protective perimeter offers all of these benefits
- Wave-dampening and protection
- Ecological improvement in water quality and habitat
- Waterscape beautification
- Reduction and prevention of greenhouse gas, particularly methane
This BioHaven protective barrier in Lake Hackberry, LA, protects the shoreline from inundation while providing aesthetic appeal.
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What would a BioHaven protective barrier look like?
The building-block of the protective barrier is our High-Energy BioHaven, a modular system composed of the toughest BioHavens available. The modules are constructed using our most advanced materials and protective coatings. They are deployed with spaces between them to preserve riparian edge; this also aids in dampening waves at different angles. The flexible matrix material does not simply reflect wave energy: it absorbs and dissipates it. To provide aeration for water treatment, NanoHaven modules (BioHavens that support a solar-powered nanobubbler) are interspersed among the perimeter modules. BioHaven StreamBeds may be added for additional circulation to assist water cooling.
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In 2014, the Floating Breakwater received the endorsement of The Water Institute of the Gulf, as an innovative technology for Shoreline Protection and Bank Stabilization.
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Wave-Dampening: High-Energy BioHaven Floating Breakwaters have a long history of use in the US Gulf Coast, protecting delicate shorelines from erosion caused by wave damage. With our proven anchoring techniques, they have withstood severe weather events and tidal forces. They are also in use in watersports venues, preventing excess wave action and short, chop waves from impacting other water users and the ecology of the lake itself. As a buffer for an existing FPV array, it offers the best possible protection while making it look natural and attractive. Click here for more information. See our case studies: Wave Dampening describes flume testing by a world-renowned lab and Living Shorelines describes three successful installations on the Gulf Coast.
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Ecological benefits:BioHavens bring water quality improvements on many levels. Nutrient pollution, which leads to algae blooms and massive greenhouse gas emissions if unchecked, is reduced by a combination of BioHavens and NanoHavens. Their biological dredging effect ensures no build-up of organic sediments beneath the islands. Water quality goals can be established through our modeling system, which uses proprietary, historical data to estimate the size of BioHaven needed. Cooling of the solar array can be enhanced through circulation. We are setting the stage for entry into the carbon trading market as it becomes established. Additional benefits include habitat for invertebrates, a key component of the EU Water Framework Directive. Here is what a Los Angeles lake manager has to say about the abundance of invertebrates: https://youtu.be/SQo8QWUqt80
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As these plants mature, they obscure the manhole cover and enhance the aesthetics of this desirable residential lake.
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Beautification: BioHavens provide a naturalized perimeter which adds aesthetic value to a waterbody by shielding the floats and panels from view.
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This 39,000 sq ft BioHaven attracted Caspian terns away from a fragile food source. It was studied for several years by Bird Research Northwest.
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Wildlife Relocation: BioHaven Floating Islands have been used successfully to attract wildlife away from an area where they were creating an environmental imbalance or were endangered by human activities. This is a strategy that can help to protect the solar panels from fouling and save maintenance costs and headaches. See the case study.
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A special raft was built to float this dead-weight anchor into position
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Anchoring: Many complex anchoring challenges have been overcome as we've installed large islands in tidal areas, and lakes prone to high winds and fetch. Dead-weight, helical, arrowhead and penetrator anchors have all been tested by our engineering team in order to assess the most suitable option for any given situation. In high-energy and high-risk settings, like floating solar, we collaborate with experts in the world's most advanced tethering and tensioning methods and products.
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Call +1 (406) 373-5200 today to consult with our expert team
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This time-lapse video shows the largest BioHaven in Australia being launched - and standing up to a storm event shortly afterwards.
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Learn more...
/ How BioHaven Floating Islands Work
/ Solar-Powered NanoHavens to Fix HABs
/ Climate Action
/ Wastewater Resource Recovery
The largest BioHaven Floating Island launched in the USA, 39,000 square feet, was built to support 900 tons of gravel as nesting habitat. We know how to anchor large floating platforms like these.