In order to free up land, as well as help with cooling, a French company has produced the UK’s first floating solar farm.
Solar power is big business. Even in northern lattitudes, panels are becoming more commonplace on the roofs of homes and businesses looking to tap into the endless supply of energy we get from the sun. However, in the commercial market, larger solar farms raise a few concerns as well. Notably, solar farms steal away valuable farmland that could otherwise be used for crops. One way to free up land is to put the solar farm on water. A French company called Ciel et Terre envisions placing the solar array on a float in reservoirs, filled quarries, irrigation canals or tailing ponds.
The company has just completed the UK’s first floating solar farm in Berkshire. According to the BBC, the solar array consists of 800 panels which have been placed on a reservoir at the Sheeplands Farm. The project reportedly cost £250,000 and the farm owner Mark Bennet hopes to put similar arrays all around the country. “We are speaking to big utility companies, to agricultural companies – anyone with an unused body of water,” says Bennet in an interview with the BBC. “The potential is remarkable.”
And beyond all the practical benefits, it blends nicely with the lake too.
Indeed, the benefits of placing a solar farm on water go beyond simply freeing up space. Ciel et Terre, which operates over 50 solar plants around the world, points out that placing the panels on a lake will help cool them as well.
Magnus Jarméus, a Stockholm-based mechanical engineer, elaborated to us on the potential benefits of a floating solar farm: “The cooling could actually improve the performance [of the panels], however one would have to take into account the reflected light from the water as well.” It’s not as easy as just dropping the panels into a lake either; pumps may be required to help the cooling process: “You should have pumps in the lake ready to cool the PV (photovoltaic) cells off, if required. 15% is the nominal efficiency [of a panel], however the yearly average can be around 9-11% if not cooled.”
Source: Phys.org
Read More: http://ift.tt/1yFKxsH
Solar power is big business. Even in northern lattitudes, panels are becoming more commonplace on the roofs of homes and businesses looking to tap into the endless supply of energy we get from the sun. However, in the commercial market, larger solar farms raise a few concerns as well. Notably, solar farms steal away valuable farmland that could otherwise be used for crops. One way to free up land is to put the solar farm on water. A French company called Ciel et Terre envisions placing the solar array on a float in reservoirs, filled quarries, irrigation canals or tailing ponds.
The company has just completed the UK’s first floating solar farm in Berkshire. According to the BBC, the solar array consists of 800 panels which have been placed on a reservoir at the Sheeplands Farm. The project reportedly cost £250,000 and the farm owner Mark Bennet hopes to put similar arrays all around the country. “We are speaking to big utility companies, to agricultural companies – anyone with an unused body of water,” says Bennet in an interview with the BBC. “The potential is remarkable.”
And beyond all the practical benefits, it blends nicely with the lake too.
Indeed, the benefits of placing a solar farm on water go beyond simply freeing up space. Ciel et Terre, which operates over 50 solar plants around the world, points out that placing the panels on a lake will help cool them as well.
Magnus Jarméus, a Stockholm-based mechanical engineer, elaborated to us on the potential benefits of a floating solar farm: “The cooling could actually improve the performance [of the panels], however one would have to take into account the reflected light from the water as well.” It’s not as easy as just dropping the panels into a lake either; pumps may be required to help the cooling process: “You should have pumps in the lake ready to cool the PV (photovoltaic) cells off, if required. 15% is the nominal efficiency [of a panel], however the yearly average can be around 9-11% if not cooled.”
Source: Phys.org
Read More: http://ift.tt/1yFKxsH
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