Floating solar farms are becoming really popular around the world, especially in Asia and Europe, but this technology could take over the US soon.
Chris Bartle, director of sales of Ciel & Terre, a floating solar company told Euro News the reason why floating solar is very popular in Asia:
“Asia, especially island nations like Japan and Taiwan, were very keen on floating solar because they just didn’t have a lot of land for large scale ground mount solar. So that’s been our fastest-growing market and continues to be our fastest-growing market,” he said.
When land is scarce or too expensive, floating solar is the best solution for solar power because it can be installed on reservoirs, making more efficient use of space. Also, using floating solar farms can help the efficiency of the energy produced, thanks to thanks to the cooling effect that the water gives to the panels, and in return, the farm produces shades, which prevents the evaporation and loss of water.
“Here in the US where we have more land, what we’re seeing is where we have population density islands in California, in the Northeast and Florida, those are the hot markets here in the US where again they don’t have land or land is very expensive,” Bartle said referring to the places where floating solar would be more efficient in the US.
One of the biggest floating solar farms in the US is in California and can give power to 3,400 homes. Also, in California, there is a solar farm installed on the top of a wastewater treatment plant. The key of floating solar farms is to use them in still waters and use already existing spaces more efficiently because this technology can’t operate on fast-moving waters.
Other countries, like Portugal, have been exploring the floating farm technology recently, facing new challenges but also resolving them cleverly and also generating enough power for the region where these farms are installed.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the floating solar market is growing in the US. With more states having inversion for solar farms, it is possible that soon we will be seeing a boom of floating solar farms in the US.
