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Are Floating Solar Farms the Future of Green Energy, or Just a Pipe Dream?

Leo Breydon

Leo Breydon

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 22, 2024
5
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United States
Floating solar farms, also known as floatovoltaics, are emerging as a potential solution for land-scarce regions seeking to expand their renewable energy capacity. The post I found about introducing Floating Solar might not be too neutral, so I wonder are these water-based solar installations truly viable and could they be another break-point for the solar panel in different applications, or are there hidden environmental and economic drawbacks?

What are the pros and cons of floatovoltaics you guys reckon, and whether they represent a sustainable and realistic path forward for the future of green energy.
 
I really like the idea of Solar power. The implementation of it, especially on a global scale, is another matter entirely. As with any renewable energy source, there is going to be a downside to it. After reading that Wiki article, I can see the upsides to water based solar panels but to make it a large scale operation that supplements existing solar arrays...I think we are very far from that.

The problem with floating solar is now you have to contend with water as well. Sure, water on its own is not harmful but when mixed with expensive electronic components that solar panels need, then your net gain of renewable energy just went into the negative because now you have to drive your gas powered boat out to the panels, repair the water damage and drive back. It's fine if it's on a reservoir or a lake but to implement this in a Sea or Ocean...we're closer to getting to Mars than we are to that.

Again, I really, really like the idea of Solar power but the amount of panels needed in order to make it TRULY renewable and at the very least, work along side conventional electrical power distribution, we are very far from that. We're getting there but not fast enough.

I'm putting more of my chips into Nuclear Fusion. Again, like with Solar, there is a downside with it and right now, it's costing more to start up a fusion reaction than it produces but it has the better potential for being the primary power generator for the future. Will I see it in my lifetime? Probably not but future generations will be able to benefit from it hopefully.
 
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My country has enough space we can just put them on land wherever needed.

And nearly every home owner has a PV system of some kind. I have a fairly large one, my neighbours have a huge system and room to expand it even more. People have made their choice, irrespective of noisy rhetoric on social media or conservative news outlets. It comes down to dollars and that is their motivation.
 
jedimasterkyle said:
The problem with floating solar is now you have to contend with water as well. Sure, water on its own is not harmful but when mixed with expensive electronic components that solar panels need, then your net gain of renewable energy just went into the negative because now you have to drive your gas powered boat out to the panels, repair the water damage and drive back. It's fine if it's on a reservoir or a lake but to implement this in a Sea or Ocean...we're closer to getting to Mars than we are to that.
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I have personally been on quite a number of wind-powered boats. It's a technology that's been around for ages. These days, they can move very quickly, especially if they use hydrofoils. I think sailing a boat to an offshore location happens far more frequently than even getting a rocket-lifted payload into low Earth orbit. Going to Mars would be much more challenging than LEO.

Even if you supplement or supplant the wind-collecting devices with motors, I see no reason those can't be electric, powered by batteries, the same as land-based vehicles use. One nice benefit is that the offshore destination would have plenty of charging capacity, unless it went completely offline or sank.
 
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I doubt that anybody would invest in such things unless there is a profit or perhaps a monetary gain to be made. For example, even a solar panel array at one's home (or property) costs a lot of money to setup, and a lot of years just to pay for the initial construction cost. Not only that, but within those years of waiting "to break even (it could be 10-12 years)," you still have to pay for the system's maintenance (repairs, and parts replacement). Ten or twelve years later the system is somewhat obsolete, unless you upgrade it within those 12 years.
 
Could floating solar arrays handle storms? I remember back in the 90’s a Popular Science article stated that a 10x10 mile solar array would produce enough power to run the entire USA. The problem with that plan was transmission of electric over long distances. Maybe if you created 3 of them or split them into 12 scattered around. 🤔
 
Huntn said:
Could floating solar arrays handle storms? I remember back in the 90’s a Popular Science article stated that a 10x10 mile solar array would produce enough power to run the entire USA. The problem with that plan was transmission of electric over long distances. Maybe if you created 3 of them or split them into 12 scattered around. 🤔
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I don't think they would. After all, a storm can destroy a wooden house, or even a metallic-corrugated roof.
 
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