Landmark report offers best practices for floating solar developers

SolarPower Europe has announced the launch of a new report designed to offer technical guidance and best practices to floating solar project developers.

The Floating PV Best Practices report, launched at the Sustainable Solar Europe event in Brussels, draws from knowledge and experience from experts from SolarPower Europe’s Land Use and Permitting Workstream, who have compiled best practices through technical guidance and real-world examples.

The report includes an overview of the floating PV market at the global and European levels. It also includes details on the benefits of floating solar, guidance for project developers, technical application, and a dedicated chapter on offshore solar.

According to SolarPower Europe's report, "developing solar projects on water, both onshore and marine, require technical adjustments in design and operation in comparison to land based projects".

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The report highlights the differing permitting and licensing requirements for these projects, as well as the different regulatory and environmental considerations to be considered.

Lina Dubina, policy advisor for sustainability at SolarPower Europe commented, “Solar growth is unparalleled, and we are working to achieve a minimum 750GW EU target by 2030. With these guidelines, we’re outlining how floating PV can sustainably play a role in this growth, drive high-quality projects, and bring solar to new shores."

The market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 22% and using 10% of the world's reservoirs could provide over 23GW capacity, states the report. The global floating PV market is anticipated to surpass
the 6GW threshold by 2031, showing a significant uptake in the technology.

Floating solar is increasingly popular as a sustainable solution as it can minimise land scarcity risks, reduce land competition, help conserve land resources and improve land and water efficiency.