FPV, floating photovoltaic panels or floating solar panels generate energy while resting on calm bodies of water. They have special mounts that allow them to do this. They can be placed on water reservoirs or lakes without being fixed to ground or roof mounts. You might not see them
much in the United States, but they are used in other countries for experimenting and real-world uses.
Different From Traditional Panels
Firstly, traditional solar panels are an older technology, used for electricity generation for decades; however, floating solar panels are recent since the first floating solar array was unveiled in Japan in 2007. Being a newcomer to the solar panel market, floating solar panels may or may not have economic benefits.
While experts question their feasibility, people who have adopted floating solar panels for a long time have seen benefits in their savings. A good thing about floating solar is that solar panels built for land applications can also be used on water. They can be suspended by hollow plastic buoys designed to tolerate harsh weather.
Cables hold the panels in place and transfer solar power to land for use. The only difference between floating solar panels and traditional solar panels is that one is placed above the water while the other uses racking and mounts to be fixed on land.
Use In Different Countries
The majority of floating solar farms are located in Southeast Asia. This is because the region has little dry land. Asia has rapidly embraced floating solar panel technology. The largest floating solar panel farm is in China. This farm is built on an artificial lake created on a former coal mine and generates 70 megawatts (MW) of energy.
The first floating solar panel array was built in California, and it proved to be beneficial. People wanting to save their land and reduce electricity bills installed floating solar panels. The largest floating solar panel array in the United States is located in Sayreville, New Jersey. It generates 4.4 megawatts of energy and was built over the town’s drinking water treatment center.
The panels protect the water by decreasing evaporation and algae growth since they keep the water shaded and cool. Although floating solar panels are a new market in the U.S., they are fast growers. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), if floating solar panels were installed on all man-made bodies of water in the U.S., they could generate 10% of the country’s annual electricity consumption,
Benefits
Installation At Existing Power Plants:
Dams utilize artificial lakes to produce hydroelectricity. These lakes can be used for floating solar panels. This will combine hydropower with solar energy and increase energy production significantly. Furthermore, since the electric cables from the hydropower site are already traveling to the grid, they can be connected to floating solar panels for increased energy transference.
Increased Efficiency:
Just as solar panels cool the water, the water also cools the panel. It’s a cycle of cooling. This helps the solar panels since they can get hot during operation, and high temperatures decrease efficiency, so a cool body of water helps maintain efficiency.
Land Is Not Wasted:
Solar farms take up a lot of space and land, which could’ve been used for other purposes. However, floating solar panels don’t take up any land space and instead float on existing bodies of water. This is a good way of producing solar power without using any land space.
Clean Water:
It’s always beneficial to install floating solar panels in fresh water. This is because fresh water is prone to algal blooms, which can harm local wildlife and reduce the oxygen availability in the water, thereby killing off the creatures inside it.
Climate change and land heating also heat the water, allowing more algal blooms. However, floating solar panels provide shade from the sun, and the water is kept cool, reducing the chance of algal blooms.
Drawbacks
Disturb Aquatic Life:
It isn’t confirmed but floating solar panels can potentially disturb aquatic life. This is because they stop sunlight from reaching the water's surface. This is harmful to animals who depend on sunlight to live their life.
The equipment for the panels or the panels themselves also poses a high risk of harming aquatic creatures. A good way to counter this is to install floating solar panels on man-made reservoirs and lakes.
Expensive Maintenance:
Being a new technology, floating solar panels are expensive to maintain, and only a handful of professionals can handle floating structures. However, the price will drop in the future because of the increased adoption of floating solar panels in the U.S.
Impact Of Water:
Solar panels can handle rain and are designed to be waterproof but constant contact with water makes them prone to damage, and these panels don’t last long; however, this disadvantage is rarely a reason for not installing floating solar panels.
Floating Solar For Homeowners
It isn’t feasible for homeowners to install floating solar panels, especially as most of them live on land. You won't need floating solar panels unless you have a pond or a lake. However, there are many options for rooftop solar installations and plenty of professional installers to do the job. Having a local solar installation professional will save you money and time. Just like an unused pond can be used for floating solar panels, unused roofs can be for solar panels.