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Floating solar could help power nations with limited land (aussie.zone)

submitted 1 day ago by arbilp3@aussie.zone to c/environment@aussie.zone

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And in hot regional areas of Australia it could be used on dam reservoirs so as not to take up land used for other purposes but also to reduce water evaporation and produce extra energy.

“What we found is that offshore floating solar systems can generate more electricity over their lifetime – about 12% more than land-based systems under the same conditions.

“Because of this higher energy output, they also achieve greater carbon emission reductions. In simple terms, even though both systems use similar technology, placing solar panels on water can make them more effective.”

This is partly due to the cooling effect of the surrounding water, which conducts heat away from the solar panels more efficiently than air. The electrical efficiency of solar cells decreases as ambient temperatures increase, so this effect is particularly helpful in warm climates.

https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/9388/Floating-solar-could-help-power-nations-with

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[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wow, I'd never seen those floating balls till now. I bet they're made of some sort of plastic too, creating more environmental problems.

[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls On This Reservoir [Veritasium]

[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Really interesting. Thanks for that. I just still wonder whether microparticles of the plastic still get into the water.

[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

They definitely do; while interesting, unfortunately a good chunk of that video was basically an advertisement full of half truths. It's also over 7 years old.

'These breakdown over time, but it's perfectly fine, you could take a bite out of these chews one on camera' ... Sure buddy.

You could replace a good chunk of those with a floating barge type thing made of solar panels though, keeping the sun off of the water and collecting the energy.

You'll still need something dynamic around the edges, to deal with the rise\fall of the water changing the shoreline, but there's lots of room in the center.

[–] NannerBanner@literature.cafe 1 points 2 hours ago

It seems like the edges would be easy... If the panels aren't floating directly on the water, you could either make the height above the water enough that the rise and fall wouldn't let them touch the ground, or simply use an angled panel that arcs up higher.