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China develops the world's largest floating solar plant. The solar power plant can generate renewable energy to power up to 15 Chinese homes.
After years of deactivation, a portion of land, which was previously used as a coal mine near Huainan, China, now operates with a much more sustainable purpose, becoming the largest floating solar plant in the world!
Understand how China built the largest floating solar power plant in the world
Anhui Province is located in eastern China, in the Delta of yangtze river. On the one hand, the region is a cradle of pre-Chinese history and excavations reveal fossils of generations of people who have inhabited the place since ancient times. On the other hand, it is one of the largest and most modern centers in China, being responsible for the creation of robots, electric cars and even the world's first quantum satellite, called Mice.
The city, once known for its large coal mine,It is now home to the world's largest floating solar plant. The project was built on a lake and occupies 86 hectares, the equivalent of 121 football fields. There are 165 thousand solar panels, generating 40 MW of sustainable energy, enough to supply 15 thousand homes.
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With clouds of dirt covering the major centers of China, the country is considered one of the most polluting in the world and has faced serious consequences of this sad reality. One of them is that people are forced to stay at home for several days with a focus on avoiding further damage to their health. Another effect of pollution is that police cameras are unable to record infractions due to the dense layer of dust.
China adopts measures to reduce pollution
According to studies carried out, up to 30 million people died prematurely between 2000 and 2016 due to pollution. To reduce these harmful impacts, the country has adopted extreme measures. Since 2003, the use of mineral coal in the country as an energy source has been decreasing year after year. Under the Paris agreement, China committed to reducing CO2 emissions as much as possible by 2030. In addition to expanding its energy sources by 20%.
The Huainan floating solar plant is a crucial point for this strategy, requiring many studies, being opened in 2017 for a cost of US$45 million. The project was installed on the high seas and not on land due to the fact that the solar plant's panels lose efficiency as the temperature increases.
In this way, the proximity to the waterline cools the modules, reducing the risk of overheating of the panels. According to studies carried out, the gain in energy efficiency in a floating solar plant varies from 5% to 15% in relation to conventional plants.
Why Huainan?
It turns out that Huainan is a hot and humid place, and the floating solar power plant project is located on a mining site that was flooded due to constant rain, reaching a water depth of between 4 and 10 M, that is, the Permanent flooding made the area inoperative for years, as it would not be suitable for mining, much less for irrigation, due to its high level of mineralization.
However, the secret to the success of any venture is to use the available resources, and that is what China did, seeing this area as a suitable location for the construction of a floating solar plant. It is worth highlighting that the country is currently the one that produces the most solar energy in the world. There are 77 GW in total. To give you an idea, Brazil supplies only 28 MW, according to Aneel.
