Floating Solar
Floating Solar
A floating solar system is the installation of solar panels on water. It involves placing the solar panels on floating structures that are designed to stay afloat and support the weight of the solar panels
Floating solar, sometimes referred to as ‘floatovoltaics’, is exactly what it sounds like—solar PV projects constructed and installed on a body of water, as opposed to a ground-mounted project on land, or a traditional rooftop installation. These floating solar projects are adapted to sit atop floating platforms on a lake, quarry, or other contained body of water.
Floating solar, also known as floating photovoltaic (FPV) or floatovoltaics, is any sort of solar array that floats on top of a body of water. Solar panels need to be affixed to a buoyant structure that keeps them above the surface. If you come across a floating solar installation, it’s most likely located in a lake or basin because the waters are generally calmer than the ocean. It’s also common to install floating solar structures on large, man-made bodies of water, such as reservoirs.
Floating solar panels aren’t just a cool solar panel installation, there are a few advantages that come with floating solar panel installations.
Project Benefits
The nature of floating solar means that it has certain distinct advantages over land-based solar PV systems. Floating solar is advantageous in both a financial sense and an environmental sense, due to its efficiency and its positive impact on the aquatic environment beneath. At the heart of these benefits are potential cost savings and generation efficiency of floating solar.