China homes the world’s largest floating solar power plant

World Economic Forum

For the past decades, China has been one of the biggest offenders of too much carbon emission in the world.

But now, the country has turn its energy source into clean, environment-friendly.

In connection with the green plan, China is now homes the largest floating solar power plant in the world and now it is officially online.

Floating where coal used to be mined, the installation is helping China transition toward renewables and making the most of its surroundings.

The largest floating solar plant was built by Sungrow, a supplier of PV inverter systems, the 40MW plant is now afloat in water four to 10 meters deep, and successfully linked to Huainan, China’s grid.

The placement was chosen in large part because the area was previously the location of coal mining operations; and, as a result, the water there is now mineralized and mostly useless.

Furthermore, the lake itself was only formed after years of mining operations, the surrounding land collapsed and created a cavity that was filled with rainwater.

Speaking with the advantage of floating solar plants, it put otherwise useless water and land to good use, and the water naturally cools the system and the ambient temperatures, improving generation and limiting long-term damage from heat.

The plant also avoid taking up space in densely populated regions, which is especially an issue in China; also, the country is currently home to more than 100 cities with populations of at least one million people each.

Finally, the floating PV arrays, customized to work efficiently despite higher levels of humidity, prevent the evaporation of fresh water.

Although it was once among the worst offenders worldwide in the realm of carbon emissions and climate change, China has turned the page in a serious way.

Now, Xi Jinping-led country has become a world leader in the adoption of renewables in its quest to lead the way toward a greener, more sustainable future.

The China’s committment to a greener energy is what the world’s needed as it faces a horrfying experience such the dramatic increase of temperature in the last three years.