China is one of the leading countries among creating and using renewable energy in the entire world, and they have recently completed the biggest floating solar park that has ever been made! This new floating solar park has a capacity of 40MW, which is not the highest amount compared to standard solar parks (on land), but it is by far the most productive floating solar park ever; doubling the record which was previously at 20MW.
The floating solar park is located in Huainan, south Anhui province, China. This area was previously used for coal mining operations, so this is not only a solar park; it is also a big tribute to the changing energy focus we see all over the world these days. The water in the area is heavily contaminated by the mining operations, so it is pretty useless for drinking or fishing, making it an ideal place to place a big, floating solar park. It is also located in very shallow water, only ranging between 4 and 10 meter depth.
The system is made and manufactured by Sungrow Power Supply Co, a solar power company that has more than 40 % of the solar market share in Chaina. It has already been connected to electricity grid, so it is able to supply electricity to users.
The world’s biggest floating solar park. Image by Sungrow Power Supply Co.
Why bother with floating solar parks when land parks are more cost efficient?
Many people ask why they are bothering with installing expensive floating solar parks when it is much cheaper to install them on land. There are a few benefits to having them in water, and the main one is that land to house the solar parks is very limited. This is especially true for countries like China where there is a high population density. Finding a suitable place to have a solar park can also be challenging, and you need to account for humidity, precipitation, how much sun rays reaches the system (obviously) and temperature, limiting the suitable places by a lot.
Another big benefit is that the water is naturally cooling them system, preventing damage from heating, which can actually be a big problem for land-based solar systems. In addition to that, PV solar panels are more efficient when they are cooled (thanks to @ocrdu for pointing this out!), so the cooling water will improve their electricity output.
The floating systems are expected to be operational for a longer time, but since they are still pretty new we will have to wait and see if this turns out to be true. If these systems are successful, we might see a lot more floating solar parks in the future, which could help humanity into achieving our goal of having most of our energy from sustainable sources. So let's all hope that this project is a success!
China is leading the renewable paradigm shift
Not too long ago, China was considered to be one of the countries in the world that were most responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions, but recently they have been very interested in installing systems that can provide them with renewable energy. They are beginning to be the leaders in both solar and wind power, and with the US backing out of the Paris Agreement, China might very well be the first superpower to get a high portion of its electricity from renewable sources. Currently they are working on several superfarms, including being in the production stage of the world's biggest solar park.
I personally find it really sad that the US is not following the example set by China, and it is actually pretty ironic that China is way ahead of most western countries in terms of renewable energy. We can only hope that countries such as the US changes their direction towards a more sustainable strategy in the future, but I guess we will have to wait until the next election for anything like that to happen. Many European countries are also pretty good at renewable energy, but most of them get a much lower percentage of their electricity from renewable sources compared to China.
Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading about the world’s biggest floating solar park! I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to leave comments or questions below.