Large solar panels floating in calm seas off the equator could provide unlimited solar power to populous countries in Southeast Asia and West Africa.
The new research shows that Indonesia's offshore solar power can generate around 35,000 watt-hours (TWh) of solar energy per year, more than the current global electricity generation (30,000 TWh per year).
And while most of the world's oceans are prone to storms, some equatorial regions are relatively calm and peaceful. Therefore, relatively cheap engineering structures are sufficient to protect floating solar panels in the ocean.
Our high-resolution global heat map shows that the Indonesian islands near Nigeria and the coast of equatorial West Africa have the highest potential for floating solar panels.
The sun won until the middle of the century
According to current trends, by 2050, the global economy will be decarbonized and electrified with large amounts of solar and wind energy.
Solar panels covering about 70 square kilometers could meet all the energy needs of a million wealthy people in a carbon neutral economy. The panels can be floated on roofs, in dry areas, near farms or on bodies of water.
But countries with large populations such as Nigeria and Indonesia will have limited solar collection space.
Its equatorial position means that wind resources are scarce in the "slow" latitudes. Fortunately, these countries and their neighbors can access unlimited energy from solar panels floating in calm tropical seas.
Floating solar panels can also be installed on inland lakes and reservoirs. Home floating solar energy has huge potential and is already growing rapidly.
Our recently published article surveyed the world's oceans to find areas that have seen no major storms or strong winds in the past 40 years. In such places, floating solar panels do not need expensive and strong engineering protection.
Up to 1 million TWh per year can be produced in areas with no waves above 6 meters or winds above 15 meters. That's five times more energy per year than a carbon-neutral global economy would need to support 10 billion wealthy people.
Most of the best spots are near the equator, in Indonesia and subtropical West Africa. It is an area of high population growth and high environmental value. Solar panels floating on the beach could help resolve land use disputes.
Indonesia has great potential in the field of solar energy.
Indonesia is a densely populated country, especially on the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra. Indonesia's population could exceed 315 million by the middle of this century.
Fortunately, Indonesia has huge potential for solar energy, as well as huge potential for overnight solar energy storage power generation.
About 25,000 square kilometers of solar panels are needed to support Indonesia's wealthy but completely carbon-free solar-powered economy.
Indonesia has several solar panels floating in calm inland seas. The area covering about 140,000 square kilometers has not seen waves of more than 4 meters or winds of more than 10 meters per second in the last 40 years.
Indonesia's sea area is 6.4 million square kilometers, which is 200 times larger than Indonesia's future energy needs if it were to float offshore.
The floating solar energy of the future is gone
Most of the world's beaches experience waves of more than 10 meters and winds of more than 20 meters per second. A number of companies are designing offshore floating panel protection to withstand hurricanes. In contrast, the temperate marine environment of the equator requires less strength and expensive protection.
We have found the most suitable areas between 5 and 12 degrees latitude from the equator, especially in and around the Indonesian archipelago and the Gulf of Guinea near Nigeria. This region has low wind generation capacity, high population density, rapid growth (in terms of population and energy consumption) and healthy ecosystems with significant solar farms. Tropical cyclones occasionally affect the tropics.
The floating solar industry is still in its infancy. Offshore solar panels have disadvantages compared to land-based panels, including salt erosion and ocean pollution. Shallow seas are chosen to anchor the panels to the sea floor. It is necessary to pay special attention to reduce the damage to the marine environment and fisheries. Global warming can change wind and wave patterns. Despite these challenges, we believe offshore floating plates provide an important part of the energy mix for countries with access to stable tropical seas. By mid-century, nearly a billion people in these countries will rely primarily on solar power, resulting in the fastest energy transition in history. 
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