What is floating photovoltaics?

Solar modules installed at a floating photovoltaic plant on Lake Haltern, Germany, Friday 1 April 2022. The floating photovoltaic plant is attractive not only because of its clean electricity and lack of land occupation, but also because of the ability to save water by preventing evaporation.

The concept of floating PV is simple: modules are mounted on a raft base and float on the surface of the water, rather than blocking land that could be used for agriculture or construction. The modules are sealed, like a lid, and can reduce evaporation to almost zero, from which arid regions such as California would benefit. The water also keeps the modules cooler, allowing them to produce more electricity than land-mounted modules, which lose efficiency when they become too hot. Water-based PV: let the wind and waves blow, but keep your head above water!

The sun rises over a floating photovoltaic module in Selangor, Malaysia, on 3 May 2023. Following rapid growth in Asia, floating photovoltaics are beginning to flourish in the United States. Their appeal lies not only in their clean power and lack of land use, but also in the fact that they also save money by preventing evaporation

Limited land may drive the expansion of floating PV in Asian countries such as Japan and Malaysia, while other countries have simply taken advantage of the plunge in solar prices that has dramatically changed the economic landscape of solar energy use worldwide.