China’s massive solar power plant in the open sea is changing more than just the power grid – SlashGear

China’s dominance in the solar energy segment has been rapid, accounting for 80% of global solar panel production. Estimates suggest that the country has installed more photovoltaic panels in one year than the US has in its entire history of harnessing the sun’s energy. The growth has been so great that the country can now produce panels worth one terawatt per year. A video which made the rounds on social media last year revealed how China has covered a mountain range with solar panels. It looks like the ocean is next. China has started construction on a gigawatt-scale open-sea solar farm, touted as the world’s largest solar power plant of its kind.

The project covers an area of ​​1,223 hectares in Shandong province and uses 2,934 photovoltaic panels on platforms each 60 meters long and 35 meters wide. Once completed, the offshore solar farm is expected to generate 1.78 billion kilowatt hours of power annually, enough to meet the energy needs of more than 2.6 million households in the region while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3 million tons. The structure is designed to withstand strong storms and icy conditions.

According to state-owned energy company China Energy Investment Corporation Co., Ltd. (CHN Energy), which is building the massive offshore solar project, the massive project also includes integrated fish farming. This will not be the first hybrid solar park of its kind. In China’s Guizhou province, where a major solar power generation project is underway, mushrooms are grown in sheds under huge solar panels. The concept is known as agrivoltaics and has received a major boost from the Chinese government. However, installing solar panels on water bodies comes with its own challenges.

To date, no independent or state-backed analysis of Shandong’s offshore solar project and its impact on the environment has been released. But experts have warned of the potential risks of similar projects on freshwater bodies. The Indian government is building a 600-megawatt floating solar power plant, and many other states have also rolled out their own ‘floatovoltaic’ projects. TV Ranchandra, an ecologist at the Indian Institute of Science, told us Mongabay that blocking sunlight from entering the water surface will disrupt the food chain and natural cycles.

“Temperature variation, long-term stratification, low dissolved oxygen (DO), anaerobic decomposition, impact on aquatic life, growth of shade-resistant cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), and impact on the feeding habitat of migratory and resident birds are just some of the concerns,” the outlet reported. But the findings are not universal. The inland waters of a dam are different from the sea, and so is the impact of floatovoltaic projects on these ecosystems. An article published in the Environmental Investigation Letters journal notes that universally predicting the impact of floating solar power plants on an ecosystem is impractical due to variations in water body characteristics and farm design.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also notes in its analysis that “little is known about the negative effects”, even though the blocking of sunlight is considered risky for aquatic plant life. A separate article published in the Environmental sciences and technology magazine points out the risk of microplastics and heavy metals leaching into the water body. How China manages to avoid the downsides of its massive floating solar farm in Shandong remains to be seen. However, the mention of an integrated fishing system could be a sign that steps will be taken to care for aquatic life.