An innovative floating solar farm in the Netherlands is soaking up the rays. Proteus, developed by the Portuguese company Solaris Float, is a circular island of solar panels that bobs on top of water, generating renewable energy.
The prototype power source can be installed on lakes, reservoirs and in coastal areas, potentially solving many issues plaguing solar technology. Floating solar farms have been on the scene since 2008. But Proteus does something none of its competitors can do.Its solar panels can meticulously track the sun as it passes through the sky, maximising energy yield. Earlier this year, the slick, silver installation was selected as a finalist for the European Inventor Award.
Named after a Greek sea god who predicts the future, Proteus is a 38-metre-wide circular solar farm, fitted with 180 double-sided panels. It sits on the Oostvoornse Meer, a lake in the southwest Netherlands. On sunny days, the island can produce around 73 kilowatts of power.
But, thanks to its two-axis solar panels and unique sun-chasing technology, it can generate 40 per cent more energy than non-moving panels on land.
Other benefits of the design are that water cooling improves power generation, plus it avoids taking up precious land, ideal for small densely populated places like the Netherlands and Japan.
Conventional solar farms are often criticised for the amount of land they occupy. One study from Leiden University in the Netherlands estimated that solar farms need around 40-50 times the area of coal plants, and 90-100 times the land needed by gas providers.
Placing solar panels on water can help address these space issues, alongside concerns by conservationists that building solar and wind farms on land threatens habitats. euronews.green - link - Joshua Askew - link - more like this (solar) - link - more like this (Netherlands) - link
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