GineersNow Renewables Floating Solar Farms, March2020, biothermal, geothermal, energy efficiencies, hydropower, green buildings, recycling, solar, sustainability, upcycling, storage, tidal power, waste and wind energy

Electricity-generating
solar panels are now
way cheaper and more
efficient than when it
first came out. This led to a
rise in the solar panel number
across the United States alone.
In fact, solar panels contribute
around one percent of the
US’ energy needs today. But
while most solar panels are
installed in rooftops and large
land areas, experts are now
suggesting we do otherwise.
They say that new photovoltaic
cells would do better when
installed in bodies of water,
such as drinking water
reservoirs, small lakes,
and industrial pools. What
is now known as floating
photovoltaic panels, or simply
floatovoltaics, are still capable
of generating large amounts
of electricity without the need
to occupy valuable real estate
and properties.
As reported by the scientists
and researchers at the
federal government’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory,
installing floatovoltaics on
just a quarter of the United
States’ man-made reservoirs
would produce a whopping
ten percent of the country’s
total energy needs. This
number is even conservative,
as the study only limited its
scope to that of reservoirs
close to electric transmission
lines and those used mainly
for hydroelectric power and
irrigation. If this limited number
of reservoirs could generate
that much power, how much
more can be produced just
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