With the advent of the grid parity era, the application scenarios and scope of photovoltaics have been greatly expanded. Solutions such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and photovoltaic hydrogen production have seen some application.
Recently, after a long period of investigation and research, foreign research teams believe that floating solar farms can help mitigate global warming.
In terms of technology, a floating solar farm is a small photovoltaic power station set up on the water surface to collect sunlight and convert it into electricity. On the one hand, it can make full use of the undeveloped water surface area; on the other hand, the photovoltaic power station can effectively reduce the direct sunlight on the water surface, thereby reducing water evaporation and lowering water temperature, and can also alleviate water quality deterioration.
However, there are some problems. Floating solar farms are not fixed, and changes in the water surface may prevent them from making full use of sunlight, thus reducing power generation.
Meanwhile, the electricity generated by floating solar farms is not easily connected to the grid, so if it is only for self-sufficiency, its contribution to improving the energy structure becomes negligible. Equipping them with energy storage systems would significantly increase costs.
Therefore, floating solar farms are currently still a theoretical solution and a new approach to mitigating global warming. To truly enrich the application scenarios of photovoltaics, they need to have stronger competitiveness and practicality.
