Summary Reader Response Draft 1

Ash’s article “Floating Solar Panel” (2022) educates the readers about the pieces of equipment, features, and functions of a floating solar panel system. “Floating solar panels are PV modules mounted on platforms that float on water reservoirs, lakes, and where conditions are right seas and oceans” (Ash, 2022). Photovoltaics or floating photovoltaics are the alternate names for floating solar. It describes any solar array that floats above the water. Solar panels are attached to buoyant constructions, which keeps them floating on the water's surface. Floating solar integrates maritime and renewable energy technology. The PV cells of a solar panel absorb energy from the sunlight as the sun shines on it. Through underwater wires, these floating solar panels transmit electricity to a transmission tower. The solar panel system is made up of a solar module, anti-rust material, vertical and horizontal frames, a buoyancy body, inspection footrest, and module mount assembly. The solar module must have excellent water resistance, be lead-free, dustproof, and have humidity resistance. Polyethylene, which can support 2.5 times the weight, is used to make the buoyancy. The extremely corrosion-resistant magnesium alloy coating is used to create the floating structure.

Regarding the generation of energy, most of our electricity is outsourced from other countries. Statistically, 95 percent of the electricity used by Singaporeans is produced by using natural gas imported globally (Energy Market Authority, 2022). Hence, using solar panels with the highest efficiency is important for Singapore. The cooling impact of the water lets floating solar panels be up to 15 percent more efficient compared to your traditional terrestrial solar panels (Wu, 2022). Like any other electrical system or device, solar panels perform better when kept cool. At present, most solar panels have an efficiency of between 15 percent to 20 percent, which refers to the percentage of solar energy that can be transformed into electricity. When a solar panel that can operate at a 20 percent efficiency gets between 45 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius in temperature, its efficiency falls to between 18 percent and 18.8 percent or between 17 percent and 18.2 percent respectively. After realizing that traditional terrestrial solar panels are not performing at their fullest capacity, scientists have developed the concept of utilizing water as a cooling system. The purpose is to keep the temperature of solar panels low, reducing the loss of energy due to high temperatures.

Furthermore, lands are scarce in Singapore as it is a small country. We do not have enough available land to build large terrestrial solar power plants. “Singapore is a city-state with limited space in which to provide housing, infrastructure, industry and leisure space” (Ward & Pennington, 2017). Hence, a floating solar farm is better compared to a terrestrial solar farm because floating solar farms do not need to take up any valuable land in Singapore. Floating solar panels may be installed in a variety of water bodies, including reservoirs, lakes, and seas. For example, Sunseap Group has installed a floating solar farm that consists of 13,312 panels, 40 inverters and more than 30,000 floats (Chong, 2021). With the success of such a project installing floating solar panels on a water body, it might pave way for more initiatives of this nature to harness solar energy.

However, a major concern regarding floating solar panels is that the installation may be more expensive compared to traditional solar panels installation. “Due to the fact that the technology is relatively new, thus requires specialized installation knowledge and solar power equipment” (Ash, 2022). However, it is anticipated that prices will decrease as the technology improves and it is more commonly used worldwide.

In conclusion, floating solar is more efficient in terms of energy conversion because of the cooling effect of the water. One issue regarding floating solar is that it is more expensive because the technology is relatively new. However, it is anticipated that prices will decrease as technology advances, and it is more commonly used worldwide.

 

References

Ash, A (2022). Floating Solar Panels. Dynamic SLR. https://www.dynamicslr.com/floating-solar-panels/

Energy Market Authority. (2022, April 14). Why Singapore needs to import electricity and other energy questions answered. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/why-singapore-needs-to-import-electricity-and-other-energy-questions-answered

Wu, T. L. (2022, June 15). Could Floating Solar Panels Be the New Norm? Earth.Org. https://earth.org/floating-solar-panels/#:~:text=Floating%20solar%20can%20be%20up,more%20efficiently%20when%20kept%20cold.

Ward, O. & Pennington, J. (Eds.). (2017, February 15) Land scarcity in Singapore – time to wave goodbye to leisure parks and golf courses? ASEAN Today. https://www.aseantoday.com/2017/02/land-scarcity-in-singapore-time-to-wave-goodbye-to-leisure-parks-and-golf-courses/#:~:text=Singapore%20is%20a%20city%20state,more%20scarce%20and%20sought%20after.

Chong, C. (2021, March 24) Singapore now home to one of the world's largest floating solar farms. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-now-home-to-one-of-the-worlds-largest-floating-solar-farms

Edited on 02/10