"Floating Solar Panels near the equator could power future population hotspots" (Indonesia)
@FOSSingularity @lupyuen - Solar panels are available in many colours, even white.
The surface of the sea isn't flat so floating solar panels need to have empty spaces inbetween.
Floating structures soon become upside down reefs.
Offshore wind power might be a better solution in most cases, but production of green hydrogen with solar catalysts made for salty water is one use case worth considering. Such plants could also produce fresh water as a byproduct.
@FOSSingularity @lupyuen One question I've always had about solar panels - do they heat up as much as other black surfaces would? Surely some of that would-be heat instead becomes electricity. Does the efficiency of the panel effectively mean proportion of electrical energy to heat?
I've been experimenting with a few solar panels in my backyard but have always wondered this. Also, do the panels heat up more if you're not drawing energy from them while the sun is out?
@CalcProgrammer1 @lupyuen Huh, I don't know
Would be interested in seeing measurement data on this though for sure
@lupyuen Not that the ocean needs help with heating up..
But I would definitely have several ecological concerns with floating panels:
Panels are typically black or grayish (im partially color blind Just know is darker), which means they would get hot in the sun, and the ocean water acting as a giant heat sink, will absorb the generated heat.
Also, if the groupings are large enough, it can block much-needed light from plants in more shallow arenas
last concern is with blocking aquatic mamals from resurfacing possibly