In many countries, land is at a premium to install mega ground-mount solar systems. Finding the space to build solar farms has proved to be a huge challenge. A solution has now come up to build floating solar farms on inland water bodies, such as dams and reservoirs.
The UK has already started constructing Europe’s largest floating solar farm on a Greater Manchester reservoir, which is due to complete later this year. On the other side of the globe, Japan is building another power plant on a reservoir in Chiba prefecture. It will be the world’s biggest floating system when it is completed in 2018 and can power nearly 5,000 households.
Installation of a floating solar farm is less complicated than we may anticipate. There is no need for excavation or a foundation. The key task is to keep the wiring and photovoltaics (PV) cells away from water. Besides, the system needs to be robust enough to withstand strong winds and waves measuring up to three metres. In fact, PV panels perform more efficiently than ground-mounted ones as the water below naturally cools the PV cells, therefore improving the efficiency of energy conversion from sunlight to electricity. There is also a positive side effect as the surface of the water mass is covered with PV panel, evaporation is significantly reduced and water is therefore saved.
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