China Turns On The World's Largest Floating Solar Project

The panels float on a lake formed by a collapsed coal mine.

China has recently finished work on something pretty extraordinary: A huge solar array that floats on the surface of a lake.

It is the largest floating solar project of its kind and can, according to the New York Times, produce enough electricity to power the lights and air conditioning of a nearby city.

Sungrow

Located in Huainan, China, the project was officially completed on 18 May and can produce 40MW of electricity at peak.

What makes the project particularly poignant is that it is located on a lake that was formed by a collapsed coal mine.

With Donald Trump confirming that the US will pull out of the Paris Accord China is already making considerable steps to start reducing its chronic reliance on fossil fuel-based energy sources.

It has been a good week for renewable energy-news after the National Grid announced that for the first time ever, renewable energy sources provided over half the nation’s electricity needs.

Thanks to high winds and sunny skies the UK’s solar arrays and wind farms went into overdrive on Wednesday 7 June.

For the first time ever this lunchtime wind, nuclear and solar were all generating more than both gas and coal combined.

— NG Control Room (@NGControlRoom) June 7, 2017

Throw in nuclear as well and the National Grid confirmed another record as it was the first time that low-carbon sources were generating more than gas and coal combined.

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