Solar developers in Europe, Asia and North America are deploying solar ships at sea with impressive results.
In this case, electricity and water create an excellent combination that sometimes breathes new life into forgotten lakes created by earlier industrial efforts. Bloomberg reports that old coal pits can be turned into “green power plants” when covered with floating panels, and such projects have the potential to completely replace fossil fuel generation in some communities.
This is a factor that limits the amount of land required for solar power generation to increase the surface area that collects sunlight. Floating systems can be placed in reservoirs, lakes or other man-made bodies of water, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Once installed, these panels help conserve water by reducing evaporation.
A Bloomberg report details projects in Europe that use floating systems to help meet the region's limited solar power needs.
"Most former gravel and sand quarries are no longer in operation. It's an easy target to hit," Matthias Taft, CEO of European renewable energy development company Bayware, told the newspaper.
With only 1% of solar panels installed worldwide last year, hydro-based projects have plenty of room to grow. However, over the past 10 years, "use has increased by more than 2,000%," the report added. There are also more than 6,600 bodies of water floating around the solar system worldwide, according to Bloomberg. They do not work in rough water or seas.
Once this system is implemented, cities can be self-sufficient in energy. An article in the journal Nature Sustainability notes that more than 6,200 “communities and/or cities in 124 countries” could be supplied with all the electricity they need through floating solar power systems.
Cohoes, New York, is an example of how this project works in American cities.
With no land available for solar here, city planner Joe Seaman-Graves considered the city's 14 acres of unused water storage, according to a PBS report. The floating solar system in Cohoes, with about 17,000 residents, is expected to cost between $6 million and $6.5 million this year. The federal government and other incentives cover about half the cost, PBS reported.
The cost of operating a floating system is higher than other solar plants, and experts study the underwater ecosystem to ensure the project has no impact on marine life. However, once implemented, the returns can be huge. Coho's solar system can power government buildings and street lights in the city, resulting in annual savings of $500,000, according to PBS.
"We're an environmental justice community, and we see a huge opportunity to emulate what we're doing for low- and middle-income cities," Seaman-Graves told PBS.
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