LETTER: Many benefits from floating solar panels
Electricity production would be more efficient, the health of dams would improve and evaporation would be reduced
This past weekend, BBC technology programme Click featured a new way of floating solar panels that should solve a whole batch of problems for SA. In the programme, the solar panels appeared to be printed or glued on sheets of tough polymer and were flexible enough to move with the wavelets beneath them. The circular polymer sheet was surrounded by inflatable walls and it looked very much like a large version of a blow-up swimming pool with the panels on the bottom. In the programme, there were several of these circular floats anchored in the sea off Norway, so they must be tough enough to weather any conditions. So what problems does the solar float solve? Well, it produces electricity and because the solar panels are kept cool by the water below, they should be more efficient than normal solar farms, where the performance goes off by 10% to 25% when they get hot. If we floated solar panels on our dams, they would produce electricity while reducing evaporation losses. The dam water ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.