As the Floating Solar Market Size is rapidly growing and expanding globally, most European countries have adopted its use. Floating Solar PV systems possess a lot of potential and possibilities as the world's attention to renewables heightens. The energy system does not compete with land use and its power output is higher than the traditional land-based PV systems due to the water cooling effect. It also helps in water conservation by trapping water and preventing it from escaping.
The European Floating Solar PV market has been projected to reach 2GW by 2030 as the market continues to grow extensively.
Overview of the European Floating PV Market
Floating solar is gaining weight in Europe, especially FPV applications on Artificial water bodies.
Europe’s largest floating solar farm is located in Portugal and developed by Portugal’s main utility Energias de Portugal (EDP) across the Alqueva reservoir- the biggest Western Europe artificial lake. The 7.5 GWh Floating Solar plant started operations in July according to reports from Reuters. The PV panels combined with lithium batteries can store around 2 GWh. Basically, the floating solar has the capacity to power up to 1,500 households.
The Netherlands is considered the heart of Floating solar energy system applications in Europe due to the vast development and deployment of Floating PV systems in the Country. Several double-digit megawatt (MW) FPV projects have been in operation while a few are still under construction. However, huge floating solar plants have also been developed in France and the UK.
BayWa r.e. has single-handedly handled floating PV installations of about 100MW overall total in Europe.
Currently, there are plans to construct floating PV installations on some of Greece's artificial water bodies that will exceed 800 MW capacity in the near future.
Germany is also making massive progress in its quest for FPV system installation as the 1.5MW first phase of construction is already Ongoing across the quarry lake in Rhineland-Palatinate. Notably, the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has been amended to promote development in various fields as it provides innovation tenders including floating PV. This act will see too many additional installations.
Although FPV production cost is relatively higher than the conventional land-based one, experts explain that the price will definitely reduce as research on cost-effective tools and techniques are sought.
Global Floating Solar Market
Just in 2019, Global Floating PV installations hit a 2GW total capacity and industry experts have projected that by 2030, a total of 62GW FPV power capacity will be in operation globally.
Precedence Research reports that the global floating solar market size is expected to move beyond US$ 10.09 billion by 2030 at a growing CAGR of 16.5% from 2022 to 2030.
