Nova Innovation, a tidal energy company, has installed Scotland's first floating solar farm in the Port of Leith, UK.
SPP is used to directly power the headquarters of port operator Forth Ports, reports Solar Power Portal.
It is noted that the station was built and installed during the summer months. It has already been tested for durability, because it produced electricity during October's storm Babette.
The project aims to demonstrate the potential of the new technology in Scotland to scale it up. This will help boost the UK's solar generation.
The article explained that floating solar power plants work in the same way as land-based ones. However, their inverters and arrays are fixed on a floating platform. Summing blocks collect direct current electricity after generation, and then convert it into alternating current.
According to experts, the technology has significant potential around the world. This is how the classification society DNV estimates the potential market for floating solar power at 4,000 GW.
"With water covering two-thirds of the planet, floating solar technology offers a promising way to harness large amounts of solar energy while conserving valuable land space. We are delighted to deploy the first floating solar demonstrator at the Forth Ports and are already working on larger installations," said Nova CEO Innovation Simon Forrest.
Forth Ports' director of energy, David Webster, added that the SPP will help the company achieve zero carbon emissions by 2042.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that a team of European scientists discovered that the installation of floating solar power plants in local reservoirs could fully supply 6,256 cities in 124 countries with energy. And also save 106 km3 of water per year from evaporation.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, the first phase of the world's largest wind power plant Dogger Bank at 1.2 GW was launched in Great Britain. After the completion of the construction of three phases in 2026, the capacity of the wind power plant will reach 3.6 GW
