The use of solar power has increased dramatically over the last two years, and one company is hoping to help the technology keep up its striking rate of growth by removing a significant handicap: the ground.
French company Ciel et Terre has developed a new floating solar platform called Hydrelio, which allows standard photovoltaic (PV) panels to be constructed on large bodies of water.
These floating panels can be installed on drinking water reservoirs, lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds and more. The technology is mainly targeted at industries that rely heavily on both energy and water but cannot afford to waste land space with acres of solar panels or giant wind farms.
According to Ciel et Terre, Hydrelio panels actually generate more energy than standard ground-based solar systems, due to the cooling effect water has on PV panels. What's more, since the floating panels can be installed to cover a significant portion of a water body's surface area, they can reduce water evaporation by up to 33 percent. Algae growth is also stymied by the fact that much of the sun's rays hit the solar panels instead of the water, and filtration systems can be attached to the PV systems in order to oxygenate the water and minimize pollution.
The company behind the system specifically pinpointed wineries, dairy farms, fish farms, mining companies, wastewater treatment plants, irrigation districts and water agencies as industries that would benefit from this technology, which has the added benefit of being 100 percent recyclable once the time comes to replace it (Ciel et Terre claims a 30-year lifetime for the system).
Whether or not companies will embrace the panels is unknown, but solar power continues to grow in the public consciousness. The world has more than doubled its global capacity for solar energy since 2010, expanding from 40 gigawatts to 100. If these floating panels deliver on the laundry list of benefits Ciel et Terre touts, it's hard to imagine businesses not taking notice.
