Advantages of solar panels on water

Solar panels continue to drop in price and improve their ability to obtain energy from the sun, which is why they are being used more and more, and have long been the most economical way to generate electricity.

But they have a drawback: they take up a lot of space. And they cannot be stacked one on top of the other, but must be placed side by side and facing the sun. And that takes up a lot of space.

For some types of crops, it has been possible to raise the panels on supports placed on the ground, and they are cultivated below, with which the surface is used better and the crops do not receive as much direct sunlight, so they do not lose as much water. But this can only be done under certain conditions.

Another possibility that has been seen is to place solar panels on water surfaces, such as swamps and canals, and especially swamps because their surfaces are larger and easier to use.

The system is very simple, the structures of the solar panels are placed on floats, and the entire system is held in a certain position, bringing the energy to the ground through cables.

The photo above corresponds to an installation placed in Mazarrón (southern Spain) on a lake whose water is used for irrigation.

These types of installations have the drawback that they are a little more expensive than those carried out on land, but they have the advantage that the panels heat up less because they are close to water, and therefore generate more energy than on land, and also as part of the water is protected from direct sunlight, less evaporation occurs, and less water is lost.

Analyzing the extra costs and benefits, the experts conclude that these types of installations are profitable, and are spreading throughout the world.

I even got the news that the U S Army is going to place such an installation in a lake near Fort Bragg ( North Carolina ). And this is important because the US Department of Defense is one of the organizations that pollutes the most. More than many countries in the world.

And they are also interested in avoiding pollution, since they have the objective of being sustainable in the year 2040. And that is just around the corner.