Floating solar farms could help to protect lakes and reservoirs from some of the harms of climate change, a new study suggests.
Floating solar farms could help to protect lakes and reservoirs from some of the harms of climate change, a new study suggests.
However, given the complex nature of water bodies and differing designs of solar technologies, there could also be detrimental ecosystem impacts of deploying floating solar arrays.
Conventional solar farms are controversial due to the amount of land they take up. This is leading to increasing interest in floating solar farms – making use of the additional space that bodies of water provide.
So far, there are three commercial-size floating solar arrays in the UK, and hundreds more across the world. The number of installations is likely to grow significantly in coming decades as demand rises for renewable energy sources with more countries committing to net zero carbon targets.
Read more at Lancaster University
Image: Floating solar farms could help to protect lakes and reservoirs from some of the harms of climate change, a new study suggests. However, given the complex nature of water bodies and differing designs of solar technologies, there could also be detrimental ecosystem impacts of deploying floating solar arrays. (Credit: Giles Exley)
