Floating solar is exactly what it says on the tin; solar panels that float on water. But what that name doesn’t truly capture, is just how breathtakingly beautiful they can be too.
This week, Imogen put this to the test and visited the Alqueva Reservoir in Portugal to see EDP’s remarkable 5MW floating solar farm. Working in combination with its Hydroelectric Dam neighbour, this project shows the enormous potential and scalability of floating photovoltaics.
However, the team had two big questions – what about the surrounding wildlife and what about bird poo?! Watch the episode to find out!
Timestamps
0:00 Some perspective…
0:35 What is floating solar?
1:28 Is water better than land?
2:18 Complementing the dam
3:14 A 70m drop and the techy bits
5:08 What about reflection?
5:42 Floaters
6:03 Getting the electricity into the grid
7:07 Bird Poo!
9:01 Much much bigger arrays!
9:28 How much solar to power the globe?
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