First floating solar farm in UK comes to life in Berkshire

[OnlinePoker]

Solar panel farms raise concerns about tying up valuable farmland. Is there another way to generate solar power without tying up large tracts of land? French company Ciel et Terre has an interesting approach that involves floating solar arrays on reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds. Their platform has led to the UK's first floating solar farm, namely a solar array at a farm in Berkshire

http://phys.org/news/2014-10-solar-farm-uk-life-berkshire.html

______________________________

It would be interesting to see the return on the 250,000 pound investment given there's only a 30 year lifespan for the array. On the positive side, they're not covering crop land to build the platform.

[grahamhgreen]

1. 100b invested in solar producers more energy than oil

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025562013

[nationalize the fed]

2. Berkshire UK: 51 degrees N Latitude -3 degrees north of Montana

The UK’s first floating solar panel system has been installed on a reservoir at Sheeplands Farm, Berkshire Photo: Floating Solar UK Ltd
Emily Gosden, UK Telegraph 29 Sep 2014

Green energy developer says new floating technology is even more lucrative than solar farms on fields

They have become a familiar sight on rooftops and fields across Britain. Now, solar panels are set to start appearing in a new and surprising location: floating on reservoirs.

Britain’s first ever floating solar panel project has just been built in Berkshire, in a scheme its developer claims will act as a blueprint for the technology to be installed at hundreds of sites across the country.

The 800-panel green energy project was installed earlier this month on a reservoir at Sheeplands Farm, a 300-acre soft fruit farm near Wargrave.

The scheme is eligible for renewable electricity subsidies, which are funded by energy bill-payers...
MORE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/solarpower/11110547/Britains-first-floating-solar-panel-project-installed.html