Floating solar farms put Thailand on track for carbon neutrality

In regard to the complete picture – and best case scenario – this authoritative body strives to generate 2,725 megawatts of power from floating solar farms, which would represent a 30% bump on what the nation needs in terms of overall energy output. Impressive, eh?

So, what exactly are the benefits of placing photovoltaics on water anyway, would it not just be better to install them on rooftops?

On the contrary, there are a bunch of engineering benefits that make water ideal relative to land-based installations. As well as being infinitely cheaper space wise, the biggest pro of choosing water is it naturally keeps solar panels at cooler temperatures, leading to better efficiency in producing electricity.

In-fact, tests have shown that fully immersing them in water can lead to an 11% boost in productivity compared to those installed in urban areas.

In terms of the practical drawbacks, maintenance obviously becomes more complicated out on the water. Locations also must be chosen extremely carefully to minimise the potential for tidal forces and weather to damage hardware – as painfully demonstrated by Yamakura dam disaster in 2019.

Some locals neighbouring the Sirindhorn reservoir continue to express frustration at having large areas cordoned off that could otherwise be used for fishing and other livelihood activities, but Thailand’s governor of electricity, Prasertsak Cherngchawano, assured that no more than 0.5% of a reservoir’s surface area will ever be taken up in coming builds.

‘We’ve used only 0.2 to 0.3 per cent of the dam’s surface area. People can make use of lands for agriculture, residency, and other purposes,’ he says.

Whether or not taking the Sirindhorn project nationwide will materialise in a net zero Thailand by 2050 remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain, Prayut Chan-O-Cha certainly isn’t lacking for spirit.