Floating Solar Technology Becoming Popular Around The World

Floating solar panels are a good way to utilize waste water bodies to generate electricity. They are getting extremely popular in cities due to the non-availability of large spaces for the construction of solar farms. Countries like Australia, US, UK, India and Japan has understood the significance and is aggressively adopting this technology. Some of the largest floating solar projects under construction or completed are as under:

1) Jamestown – South Australia

• Australia’s first floating solar generation plant
• Developed by a Sydney based company Infratech Industries
• Panels are specially coated to prevent corrosion, due to their closeness to water
• Estimated to generate 57% more energy than a rooftop installation
• Estimated cost is around $12 million

2) Yamakura Dam – Japan

• Plant Capacity – 13.7 MW
• Expected time of completion – 2018
• Number of panels – 50,904
• Power generation – 16,170 MWh
• Developed by Kyocera

3) Walton-on-Thames’ Queen Elizabeth II reservoir – UK

• Plant Capacity – 6.3 MW
• Number of panels – 23,000
• Europe’s largest floating solar power farm
• Used to power the local water treatment plants and help in providing clean drinking water

4) Balbina hydroelectric plant – Brazil

• Plant Capacity – 350 MW
• Buoys will be used to float thousands of square meters of solar panels
• No extra transmission cost as existing hydroelectric lines can be used

5) India’s Floating Solar Panels – Kerala

• Plant Capacity – 100 MW
• Developed by India’s largest state-owned utility company NTPC