Jonathan Tirone of Bloomberg reports on the growing trend of floating solar panels.
- As traditional solar panel installations face pushback from landowners, farmers, and local governments, floatovoltaics are taking off.
- Floatovoltaics, or floating photovoltaics (FPVs), are solar panels that are installed in man made bodies of water like lakes and reservoirs.
- Increasingly they are being installed on bodies of water at the site of former coal plants, stone quarries, and hydropower dams.
- The World Bank estimates that Europe could generate 7% of its energy needs by deploying FPVs on 10% of its artificial lake surfaces. Scaled globally, FPVs could generate more energy than the U.S.
“Austria, home to central Europe’s biggest floatovoltaic array, has rolled out special subsidies for floating PVs and other novel projects that combine electricity generation with an ecological or agricultural aim. Scientific studies show that FPVs improve water quality by reducing algal blooms. Panels can also help save water during times of drought by reducing evaporation and decreasing sunlight penetration.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
