Floating solar panels on 1% of reservoirs ‘could double’ Africa’s hydropower capacity

Feb 15, 2021

Solar panels are pictured up close.

Hydro dams are the largest renewable power source in a continent. Image: Unsplash/Michael Wilson

Josh Gabbatiss

Author, Carbon Brief

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Reservoir location, floating solar coverage and floating solar annual electricity production for 108 of the reservoirs analysed. The size of the circles indicates annual electricity output produced by the solar power plants and colour indicates % coverage, with white/light green showing low reservoir surface coverage and dark green indicating high coverage.

Reservoir location, floating solar coverage and floating solar annual electricity production for 108 of the reservoirs analysed. Image: Gonzalez Sanchez, R. et al. (2021).

Aerial view of the world’s largest floating solar energy plant with a capacity of 40 megawatts of energy in Huainan city, east China’s Anhui province.

The worlds largest floating solar energy plan in China has a capacity of 40 megawatts. Image: Imaginechina Limited / Alamy Stock Photo

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Africa Electricity Sustainable Development

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