China switched on the world’s largest floating solar farm this month, capable of powering 15,000 homes. It sits on a lake over a collapsed and flooded coal mine.
The 40-megawatt plant was created by Sungrow Power Supply. It’s located in China’s eastern Anhui province.
There are two reasons to build on top of lakes and reservoirs, especially manmade lakes. One, it excludes, as much as possible, agricultural land and terrestrial ecosystems from being developed for energy production. And two, the water is a free method of cooling the electronics in solar panels, aiding longevity and increasing efficiency – the same reason the likes of Google are building floating data centers.
Analysts don’t anticipate the plant will hold the title of ‘World’s Largest Floating Solar Plant’ for long, as China is expected to one-up itself very soon.
The country has pledged a $361 billion investment in renewables in the next three years. Still, as the world’s most populous country (a title which will soon belong to India), at this pace, China will only reach 20% renewable energy by 2030.
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