The potential of offshore floating solar systems to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy production is gaining international attention. A new study conducted by researchers from the National Taipei University of Technology found that solar panels installed on water can generate around 12% more electricity than conventional land-based systems.
The research, published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, compared traditional ground-mounted solar farms with Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore floating photovoltaic installation. The study comes at a time when many countries are accelerating the transition to clean energy in an effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
According to research the higher efficiency of floating systems is mainly due to the cooling effect of the surrounding water. Excessive heat reduces the performance of solar panels, while water helps absorb part of that heat, improving energy output.
To ensure a fair comparison, the researchers used a life-cycle energy assessment approach and standardised both systems to a capacity of 100 megawatt-peak (MWp), a unit that measures the maximum output of a photovoltaic system under standard testing conditions.
The land-based system analysed is located in the Changbin Industrial Park in Taiwan and has a capacity of 100 MWp. The offshore floating photovoltaic system has a larger capacity of 181 MWp, but it was adjusted to the same scale to allow for a rigorous comparison.
In addition to higher energy generation, the findings indicate that floating solar systems could achieve greater reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, offering new opportunities for countries facing land scarcity and geographical challenges in expanding renewable energy infrastructure.
