Floating Solar Panels: Rising Installations of Floating Solar Panels Worldwide
Floating Solar Panels gaining traction across the globe
Floating solar photovoltaic (PV) installations have seen rapid growth in recent years as countries and utilities look to harness solar power from otherwise unused water bodies like lakes, reservoirs, and seawater. Unlike traditional land-based solar farms that require valuable dry land, floating PV systems use the water surface for installation which has opened up new opportunities.
Japan leading the adoption of Floating Solar Panels
Japan has emerged as an early adopter and global leader in deploying Floating Solar Panels projects. With limited spare land resources, Japan turned to its tens of thousands of lakes and reservoirs to host floating solar installations. The Japanese government has provided strong policy backing through feed-in tariffs and other incentives to promote floating solar projects. As of 2020, Japan had over 600 MW of installed floating PV capacity spread across various prefectures. Major project developers like Kyocera, Solar Frontier, and Hanwha Q Cells have gained expertise implementing large-scale floating solar farms in Japan.
Rising interest in China and Southeast Asian markets
China, with its huge hydroelectric infrastructure and limited rooftop potential, is viewed as having significant potential for floating solar. Spurred by targets for renewable energy capacity additions, China has seen rapid growth in floating PV projects over the past few years. The Sungrow floating PV project in Anhui province with 100 MW capacity is one of the largest in the world so far. Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are also emerging as top destinations given their geographical suitability and focus on renewable energy scale-up.
Europe picking up floating solar momentum
In Europe, floating solar installations have started gaining momentum in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Portugal. The Drenthe 1 MW and Almere 30 MW projects in the Netherlands were early commercial-scale ventures. In France, the First Solar-developed 17 MW floating solar plant on the reservoir of a dam in Pieusse has encouraged further developments. As European nations work towards higher renewable energy and emission reduction targets, floating PV can play an important complementary role within their clean energy mix, especially given the large number of inland water resources.
Floating solar gaining popularity in United States
The United States has seen growing interest and installations of floating solar projects, primarily across California, Hawaii and the East Coast states. One of the largest American floating solar plants is the 2.1 MW facility deployed on San Pablo Reservoir near San Francisco. Hawaii is viewed as a promising long-term market given its focus on shifting to renewable sources of energy due to the isolation of its islands. Many municipal drinking water reservoir operators in states like New York are joining the transition towards floating PV to generate clean energy while using up water surfaces.
Technical and economic factors supporting adoption
On the technical front, floating solar panels use special buoyant structures to float on water and anchor systems to keep stations in place even during storm surges. The panels are sealed and equipped with lightning conductors to withstand water submersion. By utilizing water bodies, floating PV avoids issues associated with land acquisition and has a cooler installation surface compared to terrestrial solar farms which boosts overall efficiency.
Economically, floating solar projects have higher upfront costs but comparable or lower levelized costs of energy over the project lifespan. The cooling effect and larger capacity factors of floating PV compensate for additional cost elements like specialized floats and mooring equipment. Studies show floating solar LCOE is at or below that of regular ground-mounted projects within 5-10 years. Further, utilities save on water evaporation due to the shading effect of panels.
Challenges around complex installation and maintenance
While floating solar adoption is on the rise worldwide, there are still challenges holding back a faster rate of deployment. The installation process of floating solar farms requires specialized equipment, a skilled workforce, and engineering know-how to moor multiple floating structures securely in water bodies. Maintenance activities like panel cleaning are also more complex and hazardous to carry out in a floating environment versus land. Research is ongoing to develop low-cost, durable anchoring systems and automated cleaning technologies suited for large-scale floating projects. Unfavorable government policies like high subsidy caps are other issues being addressed to further lower risks and costs.
Rising Global Installed Capacity Forecasts
Despite current implementation challenges, global industry outlooks estimate installed floating solar capacities to grow exponentially in this decade. BloombergNEF projects floating solar capacity worldwide could reach over 25 GW by 2030, growing at over 40% annually through 2024.
Leading solar manufacturers view floating PV as a key future growth market and are aggressively investing in commercializing innovative floating technologies. Governments too are recognizing the potential of utilizing unused water surfaces to meet renewable targets. If costs continue declining and technical issues are addressed, floating solar is all set to emerge as a mainstream renewable technology globally in the coming years.
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