A giant pond inside SCG Chemicals’ plant at Rayong’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate was originally developed to deal with a water shortage crisis that tarnished their production about 10 years ago. The 20-rai pond (3.2 hectares), equivalent to about 10 football fields, has become an experimental site and the country’s first floating solar farm.
For visitors and viewers like us, it looks like a floating mirror in a dam. Almost half of it has been covered with about 3,400 photovoltaic cells to convert the sun’s energy into power. These cells stand on a special pontoon the company specifically built.
The largest floating solar farm in the world is in the Chinese city of Huainan. It has been built on top of a former coal mine, which had become a lake after being flooded with groundwater. The 40-megawatt power plant consists of 120,000 solar panels covering an area of more than 160 football fields. The $45-million investment could help power 15,000 homes in China.
If you’re interested in having a look at the drone footage of the largest floating solar farm in the world, watch the clip!
Solar is an increasing industry, especially in Asia, and to see innovations like these, it gives us hope that it will only be rising in the coming years.
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