New Floating Solar Panels Could Help Power Over 6,000 Cities Around the World

The shift to solar power is something that is often deemed rather necessary by people in the know. In spite of the fact that this is the case, solar power is still not quite capable of meeting all of the energy needs of people in the world. However, it turns out that there is a new type of solar panel, one that is capable of floating on the surface of bodies of water.

Using these types of solar panels could make it much easier for cities to obtain solar energy than might have been the case otherwise. These waterborne solar arrays, which can also be referred to as photovoltaics, could be instrumental in making solar energy the global standard with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a new study published in Nature Journal highlighted the benefits of these solar panels. According to the findings in this study, which analyzed over 114,000 water reservoirs across the surface of the planet, revealed that over 6,000 cities could generate power using them.


What’s more, these solar panels don’t even need to cover the entirety of the surface of the water. Instead, they simply need to be floating across around 30% of the surface in order to generate the power that is necessary.

Another massive benefit of these solar panels is that they can reduce the amount of water that is lost due to evaporation. If the solar arrays are arranged the right way, they could save enough water for over 300 million people to use within the span of a year.

The power generating benefits coupled with the water saving advantages could make floating solar panels the next big thing. It will be interesting to see if more cities start using them. At least 124 countries could become completely independent in terms of energy if they were to switch over to such solar panels. The future is solar, and floating arrays will be a huge part of that.

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