Sunday, May 22, 2016

Floating Solar

The latest wrinkle in the ongoing solar boom is the installation of solar panels on reservoirs and other artificial lakes and ponds.
Floating solar arrays — they are often referred to as “floatovoltaics,” a term trademarked by one company — also have advantages over solar plants on land, their proponents say. Renting or buying land is more expensive, and there are fewer regulations for structures built on reservoirs, water treatment ponds and other bodies of water not used for recreation. . . .

The floating arrays have other assets. They help keep water from evaporating, making the technology attractive in drought-plagued areas, and restrict algae blooms. And they are more efficient than land-based panels, because water cools the panels.

“The efficiencies are what motivated us to look at this,” said Rajesh Nellore, chief executive officer of Infratech Industries, which has completed the first section of a floating solar plant in Jamestown, Australia, that will eventually cover five water treatment basins. The installation, which went into operation last year, generates up to 57 percent more energy than a rooftop solar plant.
Plus they don't cover lovely hills with solar panels.

The main possible downside would be cutting off the sunlight reaching the lake, leading to its death. Gaining solar power but losing a lot of photosynthesizing algae might be a dubious trade-off. But apparently these lakes are still living and productive, as long as their surfaces are only partially covered. Something to watch, though.

1 comment:

G. Verloren said...

"The main possible downside would be cutting off the sunlight reaching the lake, leading to its death. Gaining solar power but losing a lot of photosynthesizing algae might be a dubious trade-off. But apparently these lakes are still living and productive, as long as their surfaces are only partially covered. Something to watch, though."

I would think in most bodies of water used as reservoirs or for water treatment, deprivation of sunlight and subsequent die-off of living matter probably isn't a significant concern.

I'm much more worried about the comment regarding fewer regulations for structures built on reservoirs, and about how companies might exploit reduced regulation to cut corners in ways that end up producing costs and crises down the line.

I'm also a bit concerned about how such installations will weather things like massive storms, withstand corrosion, and manage all that electricity while floating on a giant conducting body. But overall, cautiously optimistic?

"Plus they don't cover lovely hills with solar panels."

Hogwash. We already cover plenty of hills with far uglier things than solar panels. Adding those crisp blue panels to the tops of sprawling collections of buildings can only be an improvement.