The world's largest floating solar power plant is being built in Japan

Started by drunkenshoe, February 06, 2016, 04:34:34 AM

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drunkenshoe



http://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-largest-floating-solar-power-plant-is-being-built-in-japan

The world's largest floating solar power plant is being built in Japan

QuoteAs solar power becomes a bigger and bigger part of the overall energy landscape, engineers around the world are busy working out how to build plants that are large and efficient enough to keep up with demand. Now Japanese electronics giant Kyocera is starting construction on what it says will be the largest floating solar power plant (in terms of overall capacity) in the world.

It's the fourth such floating plant Kyocera has worked on so far, but this one promises to be the most impressive yet: the facility is going to be built on the Yamakura Dam reservoir to the south-east of Tokyo in Japan, and will pump out 13.7 megawatts (MW) of power once it's completed in March 2018. Some 51,000 photovoltaic panels will be stitched together to cover around 180,000 square metres (about 44.5 acres) of space.

That's roughly the same area as 18 soccer pitches, so you get a sense of the sort of scale we're talking about here. Kyocera says the new plant will provide enough power for 4,970 average households and offset around 7,411 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year that it's in operation (equivalent to 19,000 barrels of oil).

Floating plants "utilise Japan's abundant water surfaces of reservoirs for agricultural and flood-control purposes", says Kyocera. Of course, usable land is at a premium in the Asian country, so putting these panels on water makes sense. The process of building this plant began back in October 2014, and Kyocera says it has plans to build several more in the future too.

As John Boyd at IEEE Spectrum reports, Kyocera is working with solar experts Ciel et Terre on the plant: the French outfit has been pioneering the use of these types of floating solar panels since 2006. The support modules of the mounting platform are made from a metal-free, recyclable, high-density polyethylene material that's resistant to both corrosion and the Sun’s ultraviolet rays (always a bonus for solar plant construction).

Ciel et Terre says its plants don't impact water quality in any way, although evaporation levels are reduced, and the new installation is going to be anchored to the bottom of the Yamakura Dam reservoir. It's designed to be typhoon-resistant too, so should hold up in the face of the worst that Japan's weather can offer.

Right now, the world's largest solar power plant (floating or otherwise) is the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the Mojave Desert of California. Its total energy capacity is 392 MW, and it terms of area covered, it's almost 100 times bigger than Kyocera's latest construction project. What's most important, however, is that solar energy technology is proving versatile enough to be deployed in all kinds of forms across the globe.
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

kilodelta

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on February 06, 2016, 06:14:23 AM
They're taking our sunlight!

Said the photosynthetic life living in the water.

I wonder how much it'd affect the ecosystem of the lake. My bet is an increase in nasty cat fish.

I hope they do a bunch of before and after observations of life in the lake. If the picture is to scale, then that looks like it could make some changes. Then again, I'm not a biologist... they kicked me out of class for eating fetal pig hearts.
Faith: pretending to know things you don't know

Hydra009

Quote from: kilodelta on February 06, 2016, 11:32:00 AMI wonder how much it'd affect the ecosystem of the lake. My bet is an increase in nasty cat fish.

I hope they do a bunch of before and after observations of life in the lake. If the picture is to scale, then that looks like it could make some changes. Then again, I'm not a biologist... they kicked me out of class for eating fetal pig hearts.
Yeah, that could be bad.  Reducing the sunlight means a reduction in the algae and affects everything else that relies on algae.  The articles that I've seen about this usually briefly mention the environmental impact, but don't thoroughly explain it.  From what I've gathered, they try to put it in the center of a lake, which is relatively sparce place for plants.  Or put it over artificial lakes, where there's not much of an ecosystem to mess up.

And, though I'm sure everyone already knows this, let's bear in mind that it's replacing fossil fuels which are downright horrible for the environment.  So even if they're bad for the environment, as long as it's better than the alternative, it's a better gameplan.

aitm

A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

Hydra009

Also, lots of places use these plastic balls floating in reservoirs so their freshwater supply doesn't get lost quite as quickly to evaporation.  These solar panels do that and generate power as well.

Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

stromboli

Can you say magnitude nine earthquake? Tsunami? Godzilla? Mothra? That fucker is doomed.

kilodelta

If Mothra were to land on it, there would be a 50% energy boost. Though, that's negated by the moth dust. In fact, why are we even letting Motha near the thing? Someone needs to think that through.
Faith: pretending to know things you don't know

Hydra009

Quote from: stromboli on February 06, 2016, 11:40:25 PM
Can you say magnitude nine earthquake? Tsunami? Godzilla? Mothra? That fucker is doomed.
They thought of that.  The frame can survive Japan's normal earthquake activity as well as winds up to 118 mph.  Godzilla, not so much, but that's what Mechagodzilla is for.  :P

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: stromboli on February 06, 2016, 11:40:25 PM
Can you say magnitude nine earthquake? Tsunami? Godzilla? Mothra? That fucker is doomed.
Gomen'nasai, it's "Gojira", yoroshikereba.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers