Floating solar panels are experiencing massive adoption due to the fact that they don't require large tracts of land and most importantly, many government policies support their development. This is also aided by increased investment in renewables, driven by the need to curb environmental degradation, global warming, climate change, and ozone depletion. Consequently, the floating solar panels market is predicted to advance to up to $2,301.8 million by 2026. Currently, the Asia-Pacific region is the largest floating solar panels market, and it's expected to grow consistently. Due to strong government support for renewable energy, the region is already the largest producer of solar power in the world. In addition, the strict emission-control regulations, huge demand for land for various purposes, and rising requirements for cheap electricity are driving the installation of PV panels in regional water bodies. In most of these countries, there is very little land to spare, on account of the booming population and expanding cities here. The world's largest floating photovoltaic power plant is located in this region (China): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujk6qX7wFXQ In Singapore, one of the world’s biggest floating solar farms has been built: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w1zNXGQxGs Experts have estimated that the total worldwide capacity of floating PV could reach 62 GW by 2030. It's no wonder that European states are keen to get in on this. BayWa r.e., a German energy company has successfully implemented floating PV installations with a total capacity of around 100 MW in Europe. Incredibly, there are plans to build floating PV installations with a total capacity of more than 800 MW on reservoirs and other artificial bodies of water in Greece in the coming years. Recently, massive floating solar plants have also been installed in the UK and France. However, the largest floating solar park outside of Asia was built right near the city of Zwolle in the Netherlands. Interestingly, Groenleven, a dutch based unit of BayWa r.e. plans to build an even bigger plant in Sellingen, also located in the Netherlands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMFjZS5UDUk Exciting times lay ahead for the Floating PV Markets on both continents!
At the virtual Floating Solar PV Forum, Dr. Minh K Le will give a presentation on:
Floating PV in Europe vs Asia: The Current State Of Market · Current pipeline of Floating PV in #Europe · Comparison with floating PV projects in Asia · What are the lessons learned in the development of floating PV in Asia: market & technical Dr. Minh K Le is a Senior Research Analyst – Renewable Energy at Rystad Energy AS.
