In a world with limited space, solar farms can take up a lot of space. But there is a solution to this shortcoming: floating panels.
Floating solar farms in nearly a dozen countries around the world offer a welcome alternative to ground-based modules, with the potential to greatly increase the amount of clean energy as the world tries to cut carbon emissions.
Huge solar farms can now be found on reservoirs in China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Portugal, Singapore and Switzerland. Such projects are being developed by countries such as India and Indonesia, and the world's largest artificial lake on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe could also receive floating solar panels in addition to local hydropower.
“Land use is becoming a major issue for renewable energy. People are concerned about competing land uses, and in some markets you may have difficulty finding land,” said Lara Heim, head of solar energy research at BloombergNEF. “Therefore, there is little incentive to build on water in these places.”
Like terrestrial systems, floating solar panels generate electricity from sunlight. But the ponds on which these farms are based also help cool the panels, allowing them to be 15% more efficient than ground-based solar panels, according to the Institute for Environmental and Energy Research.
Floating solar power can complement other renewable energy sources. Thailand's hybrid floating hydro system at Sirindhorn Dam combines hydro power and floating solar power to generate electricity on both sunny and cloudy days.
Countries in Southeast Asia, including China and South Korea, have long invested heavily in floating solar power plants. Europe is also starting to catch up. According to researcher Wood Mackenzie, the continent is now the second largest market for solar energy.
As water restrictions tighten around the world, floating solar panels can also help conserve supplies. The panels can limit evaporation from ponds and lakes where they are installed. Preliminary evidence suggests that the products may reduce the chance of harmful algal blooms in water bodies.
But it's not yet clear whether floating solar panels could negatively impact wildlife and water quality, said Sika Gazanchu, a researcher at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "We need more research collaboration."
At the moment, the biggest hurdle to adoption, aside from available space, may be cost. In addition to the panels, a floating solar system requires anchor systems to hold them in place. This helps make a floating farm about 25% more expensive than land-based farming, he says.
The next boundary of the floating sun may not be on Earth at all. In September, Longi Green Energy Technology Co., one of the world's largest solar panel manufacturers, said it would send the panels into space as a first step to test the feasibility of using solar power in orbit.
2023 Bloomberg LP
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citation : How floating solar panels are being used to power the grid (March 9, 2023). Retrieved March 9, 2023 from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-solar-panels-power-electric-grids.html.
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