Solar power is an important part of life and as such humans are constantly working on ways to improve our current systems. One such example is a prototype of a floating solar power station currently being developed in India.
An expert team is planning to install this prototype in the pond of Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. If this plan is a success, these kinds of floating solar power systems could improve solar power use around the world.
SP Gon Choudhury is the initiator of the project and an international expert in solar energy. Choudhury formerly worked as the head of the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency and is presently serving as an advisor to the Tripura and Lakshadeep governments on renewable energy.
He told the Hindustan Times:
“Developing a floating solar power station would prove to be a revolutionary step as it could solve the perennial problem of land. Such pilot projects are also going on in a few countries such as France and Australia,” said SP Gon Choudhury, an international expert in solar energy and the brain behind this project.
So how would this floating power station work and what are the benefits?
The body of the power station would be made up of a raft-like platform that floats on water. This raft would support the power generating equipment, such as solar panels, allowing them to float on water.
This system would solve the problem of land and would also contribute to water conservation in water bodies. Having solar panels that float on water would cut off the direct sunlight and therefore slow the rate of evaporation.
“Studies have also shown that if the rear surface of solar panels are kept cooler, then their ability to generate power goes up by 16%. As these solar panels would be floating on water, they are expected to stay cool and hence we can generate more power than those set up on land,” Choudhury said.
“This would not only help conserve water for the dry seasons when power generation goes down because of lack of water but would also help us generate extra power – solar and hydro from a single station.”
