Floating solar

Floating solar or floating photovoltaics (FPV), sometimes called floatovoltaics, are <a href="/facts/Solar_cell_panel/gufbEu8n">solar panels</a> mounted on a structure that floats. The structures that hold the solar panels usually consist of plastic buoys and cables. They are then placed on a body of water. Typically, these bodies of water are reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds. 
The systems can have advantages over <a href="/facts/Photovoltaics/5Xefaayl">photovoltaics</a> (PV) on land. Water surfaces may be less expensive than the cost of land, and there are fewer rules and regulations for structures built on bodies of water not used for recreation. <a href="/facts/Life-cycle_assessment/vGKCvfYf">Life cycle analysis</a> indicates that foam-based FPV have some of the shortest <a href="/facts/Net_energy_gain/Nt9l17nH">energy payback times</a> (1.3 years) and the lowest <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas_emissions/Cu9nXPHE">greenhouse gas emissions</a> to energy ratio (11 kg CO2 eq/MWh) in crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic technologies reported.
Floating arrays can achieve higher efficiencies than PV panels on land because water cools the panels. The panels can have a special coating to prevent rust or corrosion.
The market for this <a href="/facts/Renewable_energy/6Bu6IrpF">renewable energy</a> technology has grown rapidly since 2016. The first 20 plants with capacities of a few dozen <a href="/facts/Nominal_power_(photovoltaic)/tFTC5jCa">kWp</a> were built between 2007 and 2013. Installed power grew from 3 GW in 2020, to 13 GW in 2022, surpassing a prediction of 10 GW by 2025. The World Bank estimated there are 6,600 large bodies of water suitable for floating solar, with a technical capacity of over 4,000 GW if 10% of their surfaces were covered with solar panels.
The U.S. has more floating solar potential than any other country in the world. Bodies of water suitable for floating solar are well-distributed throughout the U.S. The southeast and southern U.S. plains states generally have reservoirs with the largest capacities.
The costs for a floating system are about 10-25% higher than for ground-mounted systems. According to a researcher at the <a href="/facts/National_Renewable_Energy_Laboratory/UMhnJKEC">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> (NREL), this increase is primarily due to the need for anchoring systems to secure the panels on water.

Floating solar open-in-new

Floating solar