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The world's largest hybrid solar-hydropower floating farm has begun operation in Thailand

2021-11-17T12:36:00-05:00

A floating solar farm that’s equivalent to about 70 soccer fields in size has begun generating power in Thailand, reflecting the country’s push to achieve carbon neutral status by 2050.

Located at the Sirindhorn Dam, which is about 410 miles east of Bangkok, the facility is the world’s largest hybrid solar-hydropower system. It combines two methods of electricity generation, with 145,000 solar panels generating power from the sun during that day, while three turbines convert energy from flowing water at night. It can send up to 45MW of power to three different provinces in the region.

The $34 million solar farm started operating on October 31st. It is the first of 16 similar floating solar panel projects planned in key Thai reservoirs as the country aims to shift away from its reliance on natural gas. According to Bloomberg, Thailand will reach carbon neutrality by 2050, ahead of its previous target of 2065 that was pledged by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha at COP26. In addition, the country aims to reach net zero emissions by 2065.

Australia plans to power Singapore with their new $20bn solar farm

2019-07-17T20:30:00-04:00

The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep in the Northern Territory, is not the most obvious place to build and transmit Singapore’s future electricity supply. Though few in the southern states are yet to take notice, a group of Australian developers are betting that will change. If they are right, it could have far-reaching consequences for Australia’s energy industry and what the country sells to the world.

Singapore is already considered to be one of the "greenest cities" in Asia and perhaps soon the world. With plans to have at least 80% of its buildings green by 2030, steps to make this goal a reality are well underway. Although obstacles like lack of cooperation from developers and investment companies are prevalent, Singapore aims to increase its green initiatives and alternative energy usage thanks to solar power. Sun Cable is pitching to be the "world's largest solar farm," according to a recent article in The Guardian.

Environment editor Adam Morton writes, "If developed as planned, a 10-gigawatt-capacity array of panels will be spread across 15,000 hectares and be backed by battery storage to ensure it can supply power around the clock. Overhead transmission lines will send electricity to Darwin and plug into the NT grid. But the bulk would be exported via a high-voltage direct-current submarine cable snaking through the Indonesian archipelago to Singapore."

Developers from ...

Turning Japan's golfing greens into solar farms

2015-07-22T13:10:00-04:00

Japan has been hungry for alternative energy ever since the 2011 Fukushima disaster made nuclear power an unattractive option in the country, and golf courses just happen to be perfectly suited for solar power — they're large open spaces that often get lots of sunlight. Kyocera's first project, now under construction, is a 23 megawatt solar plant on a golf course in Kyoto prefecture. When it goes live in 2017, the plant will produce enough power for about 8,100 households.