Floating Solar PV: Powering the Future From Federally Controlled Reservoirs (Text Version)

This is the text version of the video Floating Solar PV: Powering the Future From Federally Controlled Reservoirs.

[Music plays, images of floating solar pv]

[Narrator speaks]

Large arrays of solar panels are a common sight today, but solar panels aren't limited to flat land. With many demands for land, such as agricultural production or conservation, other locations may host an increasing number of future solar installations.

So researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, and Idaho National Laboratory, are investigating the potential for floating solar panels on federal reservoirs.

NREL researchers have found that implementing this clean energy solution has the potential to generate about half of the solar energy needed to decarbonize the U.S. electric grid by 2050.

And that's not all. Floating solar installations could also reduce water loss due to evaporation by blocking the sun and wind, which may help protect aquatic habitats and mitigate the impacts of drought.

Because floating solar can operate wherever there's a water body, it can even be colocated with existing hydropower and pumped storage hydropower reservoirs. This allows the two types of generation sources to share infrastructure, which increases energy production and could reduce costs.

Researchers from NREL used a number of variables, including water depth and temperature, to help assess the technical resource potential for floating solar in U.S. federally controlled reservoirs. But this integration doesn't come without challenges, as floating solar installation can be limited by existing facility operations and recreational use.

While researchers continue working to better understand floating solar's role in our nation's clean energy transition, action can also be taken now as nonfederal developers can seek approval to construct floating solar installations sited on federally controlled reservoirs.

We're building the future of clean energy. Explore the full findings of the report and learn more about floating solar potential at AquaPV.inl.gov.

[Text on screen: aquapv.inl.gov and nrel.gov/water]

[Animated NREL logo]

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