How Offshore Solar Could be the Future of Energy

Previous video on floating solar on canals - How Solar Panels Can Help Solve California’s Drought

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[rehanmunshi]

Now this is the type of video which, after 5-6 years, people will look at and say "those were really the initial stages and look at where we are today" . But I hope we can effectively shift to newer, much eco friendly sources of energy. Btw, nice video Matt. Appreciate it. ❤

[bakakun]

Anyone who has ever worked in a port, or related to anything marine, knows that the ocean devours. the ocean breaks. the ocean clogs everything.

[kevinc-]

I like the idea of FPV reducing evaporation of calm fresh water reservoirs and aquaducts, floating solar could locally help power pumped hydro and water flow. Also, coastal areas tend to get fog

[mikefochtman]

Some interesting developments. I'd just like to point out that floating off-shore drilling platforms do NOT weather heavy storms. For example the ones in the Gulf of Mexico will often stop drilling operations and get towed hundreds of miles during hurricane season in order to avoid storms. Of course offshore PV could do something similar, leaving a sub-surface power connection behind while towed out of harms way.

And like some other promising energy technology, there is the issue of where the energy is 'harvested' and where it is needed. Transmitting power long distances isn't cheap.

[fransvankralingen]

Having visited a few buildings about 50 to 100 meters from shore om the east side of caraibbean islands and witnessing the mushy growth of more than 10 centimeters of salt, algae and other slimy stuff on and in them, I recon offshore floating solar can only work with a rigorous maintenance schedule from the start, which makes them lose the couple of percent of added gain - in maintenance

[svOcelot]

Thanks for this, Matt. As someone who lives on the water, I was disappointed that you didn't bring up that these systems are also a hazard to navigation. Yes, we always sail with someone on watch, & yes, they can make sure that these flotovoltaics are well lit at night, but it *is* an issue, especially for us small boats. And charts are slow to be updated, & slower still to be distributed, so sailors may not be expecting them, at least until they become more common. These are relatively small issues in the greater scheme of things, & there are mitigations, but they're important to us & to other cruisers (as we call ourselves).

[brandonlaird]

Can we get a pun counter on here? He delivers everything so naturally without skipping a beat.

[norcal]

I would certainly like to do a deeper dive into this topic. Thank you for all you do!

[blitzblotch]

I’m glad that a lot of them are being built over fresh water and canals, it’s just smart. Especially if over bridges and by dams

[cleanriver]

I think you are right to be skeptical of their cost and performance numbers. There's also the performance impact and maintenance cost of salt crust on the panels. And, they are claiming a 10% performance increase on the water, while also using thin films cells (which have lower performance). Hmm, 10% better than land-based thin films?, or 10% better than land-based conventional panels?

[jmonsted]

I'm sure this is possible, but i can't imagine there's a lot of ocean where it makes any sense. You say it makes the most sense near the equator... where we generally have lots of desert where we could put them instead. It takes a lot of plastic to float these panels vs a couple simple metal brackets on land _and_ the land based panels aren't getting covered in salt spray.

[SnappyWasHere]

I guess I don’t understand how this is easier than panels on every rooftop? I understand the space thing in dense areas but roofs of everything seems simpler.

[GerbenWulff]

We need that in typhoon prone areas. We just need a system that can easily be assembled and disassembled and stored in a steel container on shore. After a typhoon the grid will be down for weeks or months. If we can roll out floating solar in areas after being hit by typhoons, we can power these areas quickly after a storm. I have a couple of solar panels on land in a typhoon prone area. I mounted them in a place where I can easily take them down and move them inside when we get a typhoon warning.

[DavidM]

I would like to see highway medians and verges explored as solar farm installations locations. For the most part, these areas are easily accessible and otherwise not used for any productive use. Of course there may be a traffic safety issues which would need to be dealt with on a case by case basis.

[marchlopez]

Several companies are attempting to convert the open ocean into a massive solar power plant using floating solar panels. However, the engineering and maintenance challenges are significant, and the cost could be too high. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) is a relatively new branch of the solar industry, with global installed capacity expanding beyond 1, 000 MW around 2018. FPV has three major benefits: it does not occupy limited space on land, solar panels on water stay cooler, and bodies of water shielded by FPV are less prone to evaporation, which helps preserve freshwater supplies. One of the largest solar farms in Europe, built on Portugal's Alqueva reservoir, has seen an efficiency increase of up to 10% and an average annual productivity increase of around 4% due to water's cooling effect. However, applying the technology to the ocean is challenging, and several questions arise, such as whether the panels will be smashed to pieces during storms.


Floating photovoltaics, or floatovoltaics, is a new branch of the solar industry that involves solar panels moored within a body of water. FPV has three major benefits, including not occupying limited space on land, performing better on water, and shielding bodies of water from evaporation. While the technology has become more common with about 3.8 GW installed by 2021, the technology is still in its infancy and needs to be developed further. Recently, companies like HelioRec and Ocean Sun have attempted to put solar panels out on the ocean, but the engineering and maintenance challenges felt insurmountable, and the cost would be too high. Although FPV is already an emergent use of canals, lakes, and artificial reservoirs, applying the same tech to the ocean is more challenging.

FPV is a boon and is being tested in places like the United States and India, where miles of canals are being used to determine if FPV is a boon…or boondoggle. According to Pedro Oliveira, the Director of Innovation at EDP, a Portugal utility, its FPV farm has seen increased efficiency thanks to water’s cooling effect. He cites an efficiency increase of “up to 10%” along with an average annual productivity increase of around 4%. A separate 2021 ENEL Innovation Lab FPV study found that floating systems can produce anywhere from 4% to 7% more energy than ground-based solar. The challenges of floating solar panels in the ocean include developing seaworthy panels that can withstand storms and maintaining the panels.

[jaapfolmer]

Thanks for the great work, Matt! My first reaction is that this is too cute by half. The ocean is like a desert: nobody lives there. That means that any power you generate must be transported over large distances and that hikes costs. It may see applications in places like Singapore or remote islands where space is at a premium. But outside those niches? I don't think so.

[dedroxd]

Wow. You are great at making these cohesive

[zbottis]

Thank you for bringing up the "what about just building on land" in the intro. Was immediately skeptical so appreciate you covering it.

[UrdnotChuckles]

Pairing offshore solar with existing wind farms might make sense, provided conditions were favourable. Even some flexible PV wrapped around the sun facing sides of the turbine tower could make for a good boost in power generation. Plus transmission cables are already there!

[andrewreynolds]

One of the best things about floating solar panels on lakes or ponds it has many benefits and one of them it reduces the water evaporating to reduce water lose when theirs droughts