I am constantly on the lookout for new applications of renewable energy, and this particular article caught my attention. The basic idea is that floating solar panels can be put on top of waterbodies in order to expand the area we can put solar arrays on. This is particularly useful for countries with high population densities, such as the UK, as the issue of a lack of space becomes less critical.
These innovations, combined with the rapidly reducing price of renewable energy projects - the cost of solar panels is quoted to have diminished by 9 times over the last 5 years, offer a positive future for renewables. Combined with new production methods, from companies such as Rayton Solar, who claim to produce much less wasteful silicon for use in solar panels, making it cheaper, solar power could easily start heating up.
I believe that wind turbines should have solar panels on top of them so they're still generating some energy even when not turning. What do you think of this idea?
ReplyDeleteThe combination of renewables in the same area is vital for its success, in my opinion. A lack of space is often cited as a barrier to renewable energy, and innovations such as floating solar arrays, or indeed your idea of solar panels on wind turbines, could help to reduce the spatial footprint of renewable energy.
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