Article
Nick Nuttall
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‘Floatovoltaics’ – The next big step for solar power ?
Solar plants on reservoirs and inland waterways offer huge potential for the energy transition. They may also be a solution to the growing competition for land and offer many other advantages. (This article was originally first published by Climate Table 17.10.2024)
By Nick Nuttall
Deploying the emerging technology of floating solar panels or "floatovoltaics" could significantly boost the climate footprint of hydroelectric power plants while perhaps countering emissions equal to today's stock of fossil fuel power stations.
Solar panels that can float on reservoirs or calm inland waters are a new, highly promising technology if planners balance social and environmental challenges, especially in developing countries.
Solar on reservoirs: The potential is huge
Some countries are already harvesting the opportunity. BP Batam, an Indonesian island between the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, is constructing what is being billed as the world's largest floating solar project at its Duriangkang Reservoir. When completed, it will have an installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts.
By some estimates, covering 10 percent of the world's hydropower reservoirs with floating solar systems, could install 4,000 gigawatts of green energy. This is roughly equal to the electricity-generating capacity of all the world's fossil fuel plants.
Writing in the latest edition of Nature Sustainability and building on a previous paper in Nature, the researchers argue that co-locating floating solar or "floatovoltaics" is the most sensible first step.
Some hydropower plants have bigger than intended carbon footprints, sometimes equal to a conventional coal or gas power station. That is because many have underwater, rotting vegetation emitting significant levels of methane – a greenhouse gas that is up to 80 times more warming than carbon dioxide.
Integrating floating solar could allow around 50 percent of such hydro plants to offset a significant amount of methane.
Floating solar systems offer many advantages
Collocating with hydropower also enables easy access to the electricity grid – and there are further advantages:
- Floating solar panels are naturally cooled by the water, which means their efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity could be 5 percent higher.
- Floating solar could reduce evaporation, leaving more water in reservoirs for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water supplies.
- However, perhaps the biggest opportunity focuses around reducing tensions over land use choices between renewable, agriculture and biodiversity.
By 2050, the United States may need as much as 61,000 square Km of land on which to deploy solar panels as part of its decarbonization strategies – this is an area larger than, for example, the Netherlands. "Land scarce nations such as Japan and South Korea might have to devote 5 percent of their land to solar farms," say the scientists.
"The question where to put these panels isn't trivial. There is fierce competition for land that is also needed for food production and biodiversity conservation," they argue.
Solar systems: Disadvantages in deserts, competition for land
Currently, some developers are eyeing desert locations for a massive solar ramp-up. But modeling of the Sahara has indicated that large numbers of solar panels there could alter local temperatures and global air flows, aggravating, for example, droughts in the Amazon.
In the Mojave Desert, the deployment of solar has triggered conflict with indigenous peoples as a result of the loss of their traditional cacti. Rooftops, highways and car parks are good options but space is limited.
Meanwhile, co-locating solar with agriculture is an option, but the dynamics of how food production will or will not be impacted remains a work in progress.
Floating solar panels require little additional technology to conventional solar arrays, only floats, waterproofing and cables anchored to the lakebed. If the potential of floating photovoltaics is to be realized, then planners need to consider social and environmental concerns.
For example, citing too many on reservoirs popular with sailors or used by artisanal fishermen in Africa might bring conflict. Surveys are also needed to ensure the technology does not lead to unforeseen consequences on freshwater biodiversity.
More and more countries opt for floating solar systems
Floating solar panels are also today slightly more expensive than land-based solar and there is evidence floating solar needs more regular cleaning. But this new frontier seems to be catching on. Brazil recently changed the law so that "floatovoltaic" and hydropower plants can be regulated together.
Projects are also being completed or underway in Thailand, Japan and China and in the Netherlands a small-scale floating solar array has been deployed with smart technology to track the sun and boost electricity production.
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Smart technology.
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Floatovoltaics require minimal additional technology compared to conventional solar, making them easier to implement in appropriate settings
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Floatovoltaics could be a game-changer, maximizing solar power while minimizing land competition.💚
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Super interesting topic Nick!
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If the potential of floating photovoltaics is to be realized, then planners need to consider social and environmental concerns.
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Wow.These are the kind of advanced that we need inorder to deal with the issue of climate change for good.
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Solar panels that can float on reservoirs or calm inland waters are a new, highly promising technology if planners balance social and environmental challenges
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This is a fantastic solution to the challenges of land scarcity in the energy transition. 👏
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@princess_nel_268 Indeed we are heading towards the right path!
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The floatovoltaics is a great solution to solar establishment since it does not raise conflict with land or deforestation.
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@tabitha_kimani Absolutely! Floatovoltaics offer a smart, space-efficient way to harness solar energy without impacting land use or forests.