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Floating solar or floating photovoltaics (FPV), sometimes called floatovoltaics, are solar panels mounted on a structure that floats on a body of water, typically a reservoir or a lake such as drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds. A small number of such systems exist in China, France, India, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States.[1][2][3][4][5]
The systems are said to have advantages over photovoltaics (PV) on land. Water surfaces may be less expensive than the cost of land, and there are fewer rules and regulations for structures built on bodies of water not used for recreation. Life cycle analysis indicates that foam-based FPV[6] have some of the lowest energy payback times (1.3 years) and the lowest greenhouse gas emissions to energy ratio (11 kg CO2 eq/MWh) in crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic technologies reported.[7]
Unlike most land-based solar plants, floating arrays can be unobtrusive because they are hidden from public view. They can achieve higher efficiencies than PV panels on land because water cools the panels. The panels can have a special coating to prevent rust or corrosion.[8]
In May 2008, the Far Niente Winery in Oakville, California, pioneered the world's first floatovoltaic system by installing 994 solar PV modules with a total capacity of 477 kW onto 130 pontoons and floating them on the winery's irrigation pond.[9] Several utility-scale floating PV farms have been built. Kyocera developed what was the world's largest, a 13.4 MW farm on the reservoir above Yamakura Dam in Chiba Prefecture[10] using 50,000 solar panels.[11][12] Salt-water resistant floating farms are also being constructed for ocean use.[13]
The market for this renewable energy technology has grown rapidly since 2016. The first 20 plants with capacities of a few dozen kWp were built between 2007 and 2013.[14] Installed power reached 3 GW in 2020, with 10 GW predicted by 2025.[15]
The costs for a floating system are about 10-20% higher than for ground-mounted systems.[16][17]