How are Supportive Government Policies Driving Floating Solar Panels Market?

The concern regarding environmental degradation is surging at the present time, attributed to which the governments across the world are implementing strict regulations for protecting the environment. Furthermore, the governments are initiating several projects and introducing schemes to encourage the generation and adoption of renewable energy. One of the clean and green sources of producing energy is by making use of solar power. One of the major challenges hindering the adoption of solar power was large-scale production because of the scarcity of land. However, now due to technological advancements, the development of floating solar power plants has been made possible, which is predicted to result in the growing adoption of solar energy.

Floating solar panels are installed on water bodies, such as lakes, ocean, ponds, and canals. The two types of floating solar panels are stationary floating solar panels and solar-tracking floating solar panels. Between these two, the stationary floating solar panels held the largest share of the floating solar panels market in the past, which is attributed to the stringent environmental regulations, supportive government initiatives, and no need for acquisition of large land. In terms of location, the domain is bifurcated into off-shore and on-shore floating solar panels, between which, the larger requirement was created for on-shore floating solar panels in the past. 

Among all the regions, namely Asia-Pacific (APAC), North America, Europe, and Rest of the World, the largest demand for floating solar panels was created by the APAC region in the past. This is primarily due to the different advantages offered by these solar panels and government initiatives which are encouraging their adoption. In addition to this, the presence of abundant water bodies is further resulting in the growth of the regional market. Japan created the largest demand for floating solar panels in the past. India is predicted to witness the fastest growth in demand for floating solar panels in the coming years. 

The installation of conventional solar panels requires large land area, which further increases the upfront cost. This was a major challenge for the growth of the global solar panel market; however, now with the emergence of floating solar panel technology, these problems have been dealt with to a certain extent. Since floating solar panels do not require land areas, the space can be utilized for agricultural purposes and infrastructure development. In addition to this, the development of floating solar power plants upon the fresh water bodies decreases the rate of evaporation and hence prevents the loss of fresh water. 

One of the major factors resulting in the growth of the floating solar panels market is the increased efficiency of power generation provided by the floating solar power plants in comparison to ground-mounted solar plants. Solar panels have enhanced efficiency at low temperature, thus because of the heating up of ground, solar panels which are mounted on the ground are less efficient. Moreover, due to the enhanced efficiency of floating solar panels, manufacturers and governments are increasingly investing in the industry.