Can floating solar islands meet the world’s future energy needs?

DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2023/01/can-floating-solar-islands-meet-the-worlds-future-energy-needs/

Covering less than ten per cent of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with floating solar panels would yield as much energy as all hydropower does today, one researcher says.

Trygve Kristiansen does research on floating solar power, which are photovoltaics supported on the water. He believes that floating solar panels could play an important global role in the transition to greener technologies. He is a professor of marine technology at NTNU.

“By covering between five and ten per cent of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with floating solar, we could produce as much electricity as all hydropower does now,” he says.
Doing this would also limit evaporation from these reservoirs.

“Less evaporation would be a good thing in areas where water is a scarce resource,” says the professor, who is also a supervisor in SFI Blues, a centre for research-driven innovation focused on developing and improving floating structures for the next generation of ocean industries.

Floating photovoltaics are now regarded as a major opportunity to provide clean electric power to major cities, especially in Asia. Solar roofs are not sufficient to fill the need.
“Many of the largest cities are located by the sea, and floating solar will be able to thrive there. In addition to large surfaces, the sea offers an important cooling effect,” says Kristiansen.

DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2023/01/can-floating-solar-islands-meet-the-worlds-future-energy-needs/