Making Waves in Solar Power

Making Waves in Solar Power

More than 10,000 islands make up the beautiful nation of Indonesia, however, these many land masses can make for a tricky power situation.

As you can imagine, running a cable to remote island residents is pretty difficult, leaving more than 1 million people not connected to the electricity grid at all, leaning solely on wind or solar energy. Unfortunately, wind turbines are quite expensive and space on land is limited for large solar setups. 

The solution? Take to the water!

That’s right, scientists and engineers are working diligently to find a way to make solar panels possible from the ocean! Let’s dive into this splashing plan. 

Ocean Solar Panels

Locating solar panels on the ocean's surface opens up a whole new realm of possibilities when it comes to sustainable power. Of course, there’s one major obstacle standing in the way. You guessed it - waves. 

The unpredictable dance of the ocean adds a serious complication to keeping solar panels intact. The solution: a clever new design that breaks the water and allows it to settle before reaching the near-shore floating solar farm. 

This idea, along with other adaptations like a floating device that allows the waves to breeze under the panels makes the concept of floating solar within reach. So what does this mean for the future of power?

Floating Power Plants

The idea of solar panels resting on the water is actually quite exciting for many reasons. Although the floating devices may require a little extra maintenance and love, the panels themselves will benefit greatly from the cool ocean wash. 

Unlike panels on rooftops, the floating panels will be kept cool and clear by the movement of the water which in turn can help them perform better. 

This could be especially helpful for densely populated areas where the space for solar panels does not meet the power demands. Woohoo!

Ride the Wave!

Although the plans are not yet set in stone, the future of wave-riding solar power is promising and we can’t wait to see how this will open doors for a greener future. 

That’s all for this week’s Feel Good Friday news folks, but don’t forget to hit subscribe to ensure these happy headlines are delivered right to your mailbox to get your weekend started with a bang! 

Thanks for staying until the end GFZ's! We hope you enjoyed this week's story. If you loved this one we also think you'll love this happy Earth news about Tokyo making solar panels mandatory... 

Until next week GFZ's, 

Much love!