Floating solar farms could cool down lakes threatened by climate change

[OnlinePoker]

Solar power is now the cheapest source of electricity in history, according to a 2020 report by the International Energy Agency. But there’s something holding this clean energy powerhouse back: space. Unlike fossil fuel power stations, solar farms need a lot of room to generate enough electricity to keep up with demand. Most solar farms are composed of ground-mounted panels that take up land that could be used to grow food or provide habitat for wildlife.

Although electricity and water don’t usually mix, a growing number of floating solar farms are being deployed worldwide. Floating solar panels on a lake or reservoir might sound like an accident waiting to happen, but recent studies have shown the technology generates more electricity compared with rooftop or ground-mounted solar installations. This is thanks to the cooling effect of the water beneath the panels, which can boost how efficiently these systems generate electricity by as much as 12.5%.

That said, lakes and reservoirs are already very important for people and the planet. While these freshwater bodies cover less than 1% of Earth’s surface, they nurture almost 6% of its biodiversity and provide drinking water and crop irrigation that’s vital to billions of people. Worryingly, climate change has raised the surface temperatures of lakes globally by an average of 0.34°C per decade since 1985, encouraging toxic algal blooms, lowering water levels and preventing water mixing between the distinct layers which naturally form in larger and deeper lakes, starving the depths of oxygen.

https://theconversation.com/floating-solar-farms-could-cool-down-lakes-threatened-by-climate-change-157987

[Miguelito Loveless]

1. Patiently waiting for a DUer who routinely attacks renewables

to come tell us why this is bad.

[OnlinePoker]

2. Even though I'm the original poster, I can give one problem I can see

By having these floating on the lake, natural methods for diffusion of oxygen into water through wave action would be reduced. I don't, however, think this is too big of an issue as it's unlikely these structures would cover an area of the lake large enough to make that much of a difference. I guess it all comes down to a balance between cooling effects of the farm, energy generated, and amount of oxygen diffusion reduced due to the size and placement of the floats. More knowledgeable brains than mine would have to decided the proper balance.

[Miguelito Loveless]

3. True, the area covered as a % of the lake surface

should be negligible, and the net effect, positive.

I have in mind a regular poster who shows up on EV/Renewable energy threads lecturing at length how such things are Evil Incarnate™, and what we really needs is more nuclear. They then bury anyone who disagrees in a word storm that generally does not address their factual inaccuracies, exaggerations, or mischaracterizations.

No solution will be perfect, and nukes have a role in CO2 reduction, but the arguments offered against EV/renewables are at best naive and misinformed. All I know is from my own experiences in the area, and they have been overwhelmingly positive.

[Phoenix61]

4. This is an especially good idea for retention ponds.

It’s wasted space otherwise.

[OnlinePoker]

5. I'm thinking of areas like Lake Mead and Lake Powell

Great amount of sunlight and a large amount of water lost annually due to evaporation. If you're going to have dams in a desert, it makes sense to get all the electricity from them you can, even if a large portion of that comes from solar rather than hydro.