The idea of having solar electricity floating on a lake has been taking off. Moreover utilities are discovering savings from not requiring costly support structures.A UK company has launched a floating solar installation at the heritage Sheeplands Farm because land is precious there. Watch this video as the farm manager explains the seven-year breakeven point. Furthermore notice how simple the system is to maintain.
The next video is a longer time-lapse photo record of how they laid the solar panels down. Then they launched them onto the farm’s sixty-million-liter irrigation reservoir. The solar electricity floating on a lake is sufficient to power the reservoir pumps. These distribute the water to irrigation systems on the farm.
The farmer is on a mission to replace conventional alternatives with free, abundant solar power. Why use agricultural space to build a solar power station, he asks. When we can float it on a lake, and thereby reduce water loss through evaporation.
Now We Have Solar Electricity Floating on a Lake in China
China has been going quietly about implementing the dream, while the world’s nations squabble over details of the Kyoto Accord. It has to, before its cities choke in smog. Coal mines in its Huainan province once contributed to the ecological tragedy. After their seams ran out, they collapsed and filled with water to form a giant lake.
Now China has built a solar farm on this water comprising six ‘flotillas’ of floating solar panels. These have special features enabling them to resist humidity and salt. Moreover, prevailing breezes cool the panels reducing the possibility of failure. The installation went live on 1 June 2017, and is feeding 40 megawatts into the national grid. How satisfying it is to see solar electricity floating on a lake above abandoned coal mines.
https://youtu.be/AXfW38Fu9yY
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