{"id":26980,"date":"2019-01-09T07:25:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T20:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=26980"},"modified":"2019-01-09T07:25:36","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T20:55:36","slug":"floating-solar-usa-mb0892","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/floating-solar-usa-mb0892\/","title":{"rendered":"Floating Solar Power’s Potential In The USA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Floating<\/a>

Image: NREL<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently published research from the USA’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates “floatovoltaics” could make a significant contribution to electricity generation in the country.<\/p>\n

The NREL’s research found\u00a0 24,419 man-made water bodies would be suitable for floating solar PV. This represented 27% of the number and 12% of the surface area of man-made water bodies in the contiguous United States.<\/p>\n

If a quarter of the surface area of these suitable water bodies were covered in solar panels<\/a>, collectively the floatovoltaic systems could produce the equivalent of almost 10% of current national electricity generation – and that’s a conservative estimate.<\/p>\n

NREL points out that many of these suitable reservoirs and dams were in areas with high land acquisition costs and electricity prices, making floating solar an even better fit.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re expecting it to take off in the United States, especially in areas that are land-constrained and where there\u2019s a major conflict between solar encroaching on farmland,” said<\/a> Jordan Macknick, lead energy-water-land analyst for NREL.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n