Decarbonization – as the name suggests – points towards the removal or reduction of carbon dioxide output into the atmosphere. The goal, in broad terms, is switching to the usage of low-carbon energy sources.
By now, we all know why we must reduce or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Almost a decade back, the world had reached the Paris Agreement, which advocated for limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees centigrades above pre-industrial levels and undertaking sincere initiatives to limit it to 1.5 degrees centigrades by pursuing net carbon neutrality, among other things, by 2050.
Decarbonization is such a necessary and urgent task for the world’s future that governments, companies, and social communities at large are keen to devise ways to expedite it. However, it requires radically different energy systems backed by alternative energy sources that base themselves on green electricity and green molecules. One new research study has introduced the possibility of leveraging floating solar panels as a path to decarbonization. But are these panels viable? Let’s take a look.
Global Potential For Deploying Low-Carbon Floating Solar Arrays
A team of researchers from Bangor and Lancaster Universities and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology undertook an effort to calculate the amount of power that could be generated and supplied by deploying floating solar arrays. Specifically, the researchers calculated the daily electrical output for floating photovoltaics on around 68,000 lakes and reservoirs worldwide.
To be deemed the most suitable for solar technology installation, a spot must be no more than 10 km from a population center and not situated in a protected area. Also, lakes and reservoirs should not remain dry or frozen for more than six months a year. Only 10% of the surface area of these lakes and reservoirs was considered for the calculation.
Subject to all these considerations and dependent on the factors of altitude, latitude, and season, the potential annual electricity generation from FPV on these lakes was 1302 terawatt hours (TWh), around four times the total annual electricity demand of the UK.
The results prompted the researchers to probe deeper and examine the global possibilities of this method. Country-wise, five nations could fulfill their entire electricity needs from FPV. These five included Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Countries like Bolivia and Tonga, on the other hand, could meet as high as 87% and 92% of their demands from such means.
Several other countries, from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Central Asia, could fulfill anywhere between 40 and 70% of their annual electricity demand by deploying FPVs. Even developed countries like Finland and Denmark could draw 17% and 7% of their annual demand, respectively, from such sources.
FPVs could also reduce water scarcity by generating decarbonized electricity. How? In the next segment, we’ll briefly examine the solution.
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How FPVs Can Reduce Water Scarcity
Putting it bluntly, FPVs can reduce water scarcity by mitigating water loss via evaporation. Numerous scientific studies corroborate the claim that FPV systems could be one of the most efficient strategies for mitigating water scarcity by reducing evaporative water loss from global reservoirs and lakes. The way FPVs help reduce evaporative water loss is two-pronged.
Firstly, FPVs offer shades and reduce the water surface temperature. Such shading helps suppress the vapor pressure gradient at the air-water interface, which is one of the core drivers of latent heat fluxes and evaporation.
Apart from their shading effects, the FPVs also serve as wind barriers. Wind speeds are directly correlative to evaporation rates, and dampened wind serves as a mitigating factor. While speaking about the benefits of FPV, Dr Lastyn Woolway, lead author of the paper from Bangor University, had the following to say:
“Even with the criteria we set to create a realistic scenario for deployment of FPV, there are benefits across the board, mainly in lower-income countries with high levels of sunshine, but also in Northern European countries as well. The criteria we chose were based on obvious exclusions, such as lakes in protected areas, but also on what might reduce the cost and risks of deployment.”
It is a viable path toward decarbonization that comes with additional benefits. However, many other strategies can help major industry spaces—often associated with the use of fossil fuels and carbon generation—become effectively decarbonized. In the coming segments, we discuss some such industries and examine their possible decarbonization pathways.
Chemicals
The use of predictive analytics, advanced visualization, and AI-powered energy management tools can help the chemical industry improve its resource and energy efficiency. It may increasingly use sustainable waste or bio-based feedstocks, such as plant or animal fats, sugar, lignin, hemicellulose, starch, corn, or sugar. Another potential route for this industry to contribute positively to decarbonization goals could be to avoid the production of virgin materials such as polymers, rubbers, batteries, packaging materials, solvents, heat transfer fluids, and lubricants.
Oil and Gas
Oil and Gas businesses must take drastic actions to successfully decarbonize. Some companies have already built their renewable energy capabilities, while others are acquiring companies in ancillary sectors, such as solar installers or electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, to expand their portfolio of low to no-emission offerings.
Additionally, there is the option of turning carbon dioxide into a raw material. Using carbon dioxide as a feedstock can potentially create markets worth billions of dollars. For instance, companies like C2CNT use molten electrolysis to convert carbon dioxide directly into carbon nanotubes, which are stronger than steel and highly conductive.
Power Utilities and Renewables
This sector has been proactively dealing with decarbonization for a long time. However, there is scope for improvement. The industry players need to advocate for a more conducive, streamlined, and effective regulatory environment.
To make their operations seamless, well-coordinated, and optimized, companies must timely transition to digital tools that empower a lean organizational structure. There is also a greater need to discover new growth strategies.
Mining and Metal
In the mining sector, companies are investing in renewable energy efforts to offset their emissions. For instance, BHP has signed a deal to develop new solar and wind farms in Australia’s Queensland state to enable them to run their coal operation in the region on solar and cut their indirect emissions in the country by 20% over five years. Mining companies, so far, are well placed to keep their operational emissions under control. However, it is the value chain emissions that they need to be more concerned about and proactive about.
While industry segments and governments consistently evaluate their impact on the environment, especially when it comes to leaving carbon footprints, individual companies are coming up with innovative solutions. In the next few segments, we will look into a couple of such companies.
#1. Ciel & Terre International
Founded in 2006 as a specialist in integrating photovoltaic systems, Ciel & Terre International has been developing large-scale floating PV plants since 2011. The company has installed floating PVs all over the world, including Ondani Ike, Japan, Changbin 3 and 4, Taiwan, Tata Steel Jamshedpur, India, Montpezat, France, Canoe Brook, USA, and many more.
The company has more than ten years of testing and field experience and over 30 years of floating solar energy production with its power plants. Its work spans 280 floating solar projects worldwide.
While we won’t discuss the full span of the company in detail, we will delve into one of its flagship products, Hydrelio Air Optim. A flexible floating solar system, this product is the evolution of the company’s original system, Hydrelio Classic, the very first patented and industrialized floating solar solution to appear globally in 2010. The solution can resist strong wind conditions up to 210 km/hour or 130 miles per hour, equivalent to a dynamic pressure of 1625 pascal. Its UV-stabilised technology comes with a durability span of up to 30 years. It can efficiently adapt to inshore and nearshore conditions up to 1 meter, depending on wavelength. The product is built with the finest materials to ensure corrosion resistance and drinking water compatibility.
Ciel & Terre also has a subsidiary called Floating Solar UK. It is meant to supply the Hydrelio system in the UK. To date, according to numbers published by the company itself, Ciel & Terre has helped avoid nearly 740,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
#2. Kyocera Global
Another company that has been doing outstanding work towards building a decarbonized society is Kyocera Global. One of its innovative and pathbreaking solutions includes the FIT solar panels that Kyocera Employees have installed on their residential rooftops. The surplus power generated from these panels, along with that generated from the Kyocera non-FIT and JEPX+ solar plants owned by Kyocera, goes into the Digital Grid P2P platform, which then goes into powering the Kyocera Yokohama Nakayama facility as non-fossil electricity.
Kyocera has been a tested player in building floating solar panel solutions. In 2018, it started Japan’s largest 13.7MW Floating Solar Power Plant. Constructed over the surface of a reservoir managed by the Waterworks Bureau of Chiba Prefecture for industrial use, this plant has a surface area of 180,000m2 (over 44 acres).
50,904 Kyocera solar modules were installed to generate an estimated 16,170 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, which could power close to 5,000 typical households. The power was sold to TEPCO Energy Partner, Incorporated. The project was originally initiated by the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture, which sought companies to help reduce its burden on the environment.
When this power plant came into action, the Kyocera Solar TCL facility had already constructed over 60 solar power plants across Japan and developed seven floating solar power plants using Japan’s fresh-water dams and reservoirs rather than agricultural land.
According to the latest available data, Kyocera Global’s sales revenue was 1,492,672 million yen for the nine months ended December 31, 2023.
Floating Solar Panels and the Future of Decarbonization
According to a report published by the World Bank that examined the viability of building floating solar power plants in India, certain barriers to large-scale implementation exist. These barriers apply to a global scenario, too. Generating solar power from floating panels could be costlier than ground-mounted installations. There is a lack of clarity regarding the eligibility criteria for a floating solar site. The manufacturing capacity of the equipment that helps build these facilities is limited in many cases.
The World Bank also noted ways in which providers could accelerate and maximize adoption. It advocated for establishing clear targets for floating solar capacity to establish the country’s overall solar energy goals.
Like the experiment we had started our discussion with, it advised the creation of a repository of potential sites for floating solar projects to give a positive signal to the market and streamline the project development process.
In the near future, growth in FPV-led solar power generation will require the promotion and encouragement of the manufacturing of floating solar equipment according to standardized procedures and certifications to ensure quality. Since it is still an emerging field, investments in institutions that can conduct reliable feasibility surveys for such projects will be needed.
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