Photovoltaic outdoor site energy solar panels

Offshore photovoltaics were first proposed by the National Energy Administration in April last year. Experts said there is significant growth potential for offshore photovoltaics, which leverage vast ocean areas and abundant sunlight to overcome land limitations and provide a new platform for solar power generation.

Experts said there is significant growth potential for offshore photovoltaics, which leverage vast ocean areas and abundant sunlight to overcome land limitations and provide a new platform for solar power generation. Offshore photovoltaics also ease energy supply pressures in the eastern regions of China, and boost economic growth.

With the finite availability of fertile arable land and an increase in food demand, irrigation which can be done all year round is increasingly being adopted in many areas. As compared to rain-fed systems, irrigated land produces up to three times more than the latter. Solar PV energy is a viable solution to the above concerns .

Offshore photovoltaics can utilize tidal flats, islands, nearshore areas and even deep-sea locations, helping to alleviate land resource constraints, Lin said. Before Shanghai's initiative to develop offshore solar power, provinces like Shandong and Zhejiang had already introduced policies to promote the development of offshore photovoltaics.

An offshore PV company's booth is seen during a solar power expo in Shanghai in June. [CHINA DAILY] Shanghai will begin the first round of selections for offshore solar power generation projects with a minimum scale of 1 million kilowatts by the end of this year, according to the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Many photovoltaic solar projects do not achieve optimum energy and power outputs due to poor technical sizing and system design approaches. Concerns on low-conversion rates, high intermittencies, and high-capital costs still haunt PV projects.