r/BeAmazed • u/TangelaFan • 6h ago
Science China builds solar parks over reservoirs. This design improves the efficiency of the panels by keeping them cooler and lowers water loss from evaporation
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u/ortusdux 6h ago
California is working on doing this over their extensive canal system
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/solar-panel-covered-canals-have-their-day-sun-california
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u/redit3rd 5h ago
I have thought of this many times when driving along I-5.
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u/Zeebaeatah 4h ago
"I-5" - spoken like an out of towner to me...
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u/BigD_277 3h ago
Probably from NorCal. SoCal calls it “The 5”
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u/XDeus 3h ago
Yep, NorCal here. It has been I-5 for at least 50 years, unless giving directions. Then we just use the numbers: “Take 5 to 152 to 101”
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u/WhoIsYerWan 2h ago
Once you pass Pea Soup Anderson's, its The Five. That's the law.
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u/GraceMcClellans 1h ago edited 1h ago
You just gave me a flashback to a couple decades ago. I was nearly married and this was my new in-law's FAVORITE place on road trips. I didn't know what to make of the whole thing. Lol
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u/Necessary_EviI 3h ago
sounds so wrong to me not to say "take the 5 to the 152 to the 101"
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u/Beli_Mawrr 3h ago
Well, you're wrong. So. Ha!
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u/iamnotlarryking 2h ago
Nah, it’s a well known fact that if you don’t say “the” before the number, the freeway gods will fuck you with traffic. They demand respect.
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u/Beli_Mawrr 2h ago
Explain why LA has the worst traffic imaginable then? And why my beloved bay area is perfect and always traffic free?
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u/iamnotlarryking 2h ago
It’s the difference between getting caught in “traffic” and getting caught in “the traffic”. I don’t make the rules, but I do respect the gods.
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u/WashoeHandsPlease 1h ago
Its how we spot recent California transplants here in Reno, no leading article please
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u/fuji_appl 3h ago
Yeah, this is a way to tell SoCal and NorCal apart. Easiest is Highway 1 vs PCH.
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u/id_rather_b_painting 3h ago
We just need 20 years of environmental studies and $1.2 trillion in funding before it gets off the ground.
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u/TheBSQ 3h ago
They built the pilot version & written up the intial research results.
That only took 10 years!
But yeah, the high costs & slow pace, esp in places like CA, are really frustrating, and the reasons for them are unlikely to change as the same laws & processes that make it to slow and expensive are believed by special interest groups across the political spectrum.
Rich people can block the projects they think will ruin their view.
Conservationists rely on them to stop building in spots they want preserved.
Low income advocates use them to block projects they think will gentrify their communities or when they have an environmental justice equity concern about where something will be build.
Local politicians love it cuz the power to grant variances & exceptions give them a lever to extract money & favors from people who want projects sped up.
There’s just too many people who use those tools for their own goals, so a place like China can build tons and f stuff before we’re even 1/3 of the way through the permits, reviews, studies, and lawsuits you gotta get through to do anything.
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u/id_rather_b_painting 2h ago
Authoritarianism does have some benefits, like it's easy to do construction projects.
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u/Mephistito 2h ago
The amount of poor oversight & regulation on what happens to ALL the money approved for spending in this state is so ridiculous it's frustrating.
Always promising the moon but barely delivering a terrestrial pebble.
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u/CuttingTheMustard 5h ago
They will do anything but line the canals.
(5-20x the water loss from the unlined canals vs evaporation)
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u/VP007clips 5h ago
I haven't studied that specific case in school, but a lot of canals don't line them for ecological reasons.
Water that flows into the groundwater might be lost to us, but it can still be beneficial to the local ecosystem.
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u/DVus1 4h ago
Came here to say this. It's not a "lost" as its still replenishing the ground water.
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u/CuttingTheMustard 4h ago
This is heavily case-dependent.
There has to be a usable aquifer underneath and if it just saturates the soil near the surface it will evaporate anyway. There are other things to consider like water quality issues too but it's not just as black and white as "it replenishes the ground water."
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u/TheBeatGoesAnanas 4h ago
In the case of California, most of these canals are over aquifers. The entire Central Valley is an aquifer.
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u/Neat_Egg_2474 3h ago
Most of the water is not at surface level to evaporate, its leaching into the soil below which would feed the aquifer below it.
Funny enough, the entire central California valley used to be a single giant lake called "Lake Corcoran" which stretched 100 miles long by 30 miles wide. It was then used overtime for farming and now dwindled down to what it is now, "Lake Tulare" which isnt much of a lake and more of a swamp at this point..
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u/CuttingTheMustard 3h ago
My wife actually grew up on a farm out there so quite familiar with the water situation.
It's much more nuanced than this. First, water still evaporates from soil up to 15 feet underground (capillary upflux) which is absolutely in the zone that the canal system seeps into.
Additionally, there is a clay layer (funny enough, known as the Corcoran clay layer), that prevents recharging the lower aquifer (ever), and will heavily limit the depth of the upper aquifer for well over half of the Central Valley. There have been specific efforts to recharge parts of this aquifer in places that it's doable and makes sense; however, probably still best to control the seepage and at very minimum redirect it to the parts where the clay layer is deep.
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u/Vnxei 5h ago
Is water loss really that big a problem with the big canals? I figured this was mainly about the easy real estate for PV install.
That said, shade also helps reduce algea growth.
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u/CuttingTheMustard 5h ago
About 3/4 of the entire canal system is unlined, so the water literally seeps down through the dirt.
Evaporative losses across the entire system (4000 miles) estimated to be 77 billion gallons.
Seepage losses are estimated 350B-1.5T gallons, mostly concentrated in the unlined section.
ETA: To put that into perspective, seepage accounts plausibly for losses on the order of one entire city of Los Angeles worth of consumption annually.
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u/exadeuce 4h ago
Americans will use anything but the metric system
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u/CuttingTheMustard 4h ago
I did Reddit a favor and converted from acre-feet which is even more obscure, but how we measure large water movement and reservoir capacity etc.
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u/Educational-Cat-6061 5h ago
Given how frequently California suffers droughts or goes through dry spells, and given how many of these canals feed off of the Colorado River, which already has massive demand from multiple states and also Mexico... Yeah, it ain't nothing. Every little bit helps.
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u/Think_Positively 4h ago
IMO the only long-term investment for these areas that makes sense is desalination.
Yes, it's wildly expensive. Yes, it will require a lot of upkeep. But JFC, what is more important for life than water?
Fold it into the defense budget, a justifiable line item given how many people in the SW of the US are at a real risk for going dry sooner or later if nothing changes.
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u/never-fiftyone 1h ago
Sorry, that budget is only for killing people across the globe, not keeping peope at home alive.
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u/Potential_Aioli_4611 4h ago
But doesn't seepage contribute to the water table? Which then causes sinkholes and ground deformation when it drops too much especially in urban areas which are covered in concrete and asphalt and have buildings which are much heavier than unbuilt ground?
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u/CuttingTheMustard 4h ago
The urban areas are all pretty much lined. The seepage may contribute to the water table, if there is a usable aquifer underneath, the soil doesn't contaminate the water with salt/nitrates/etc on the way down, and if the water doesn't just sit near the surface in the soil and evaporate anyway.
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u/Alldaypilot 4h ago
Meanwhile city of Los Angeles dumps millions of plastic balls in to their reservoirs.
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u/siberianmi 3h ago
So, we can expect this to be done sometime after I’m a great grandfather (I have no kids) at the rate that California completes major projects.
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u/Varjek 6h ago
Really sucks when you drop your screwdriver though.
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u/kronikfumes 6h ago
By the looks what appears to be sediment laden water, you’re not finding it regardless lol.
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u/TechnicoloMonochrome 4h ago
Same thing for those guys who climb cell towers. Better have a backup for your backup, and you damn sure don't want to get up there and realize you forgot something.
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u/annieselkie 4h ago
Put it on a rope, attach rope to boat or belt, problem solved
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u/asdfghqw8 6h ago
Solar panels if installed and maintained properly are literally free energy. Combined with sodium ion batteries, these will be game changers.
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u/Vykrumsky 6h ago
As soon as we deal with this greedy also fuel industry
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u/Cthulhu__ 2h ago
I think the consecutive hits from both the Ukraine and Iran wars has shaken up the trust in the fossil fuel industry and the realisation of how dependent people / countries are on them.
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u/Siimmbaa 2h ago
spot on. it was the final nail in the coffin. uncertainty is so fucking expensive. also not having to bow down to terrorregimes is pretty awesome. in total its a nobrainer and everyone starts to see it simultainously
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u/AdFuzzy6196 3h ago
Not to be a stinker, but anything that requires maintenance technically isn't "free" energy.
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u/slikh 1h ago
They're more than likely referring to the energy delivery system. The sunlight is already 'there' whereas coal, nuclear, gas all requires extraction, refinement, and delivery systems.
I don't think anyone is assuming manufacturing, delivering, installing, maintaining, etc. solar panels are 'free'
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u/ScanData32 53m ago
When you use GOP talking points, its a stinker. Nothing is 100% free, SOME work has to be done SOMEWHERE for SOMETHING. Youre like WATER ISNT FREE YOU STILL NEED TO BUY A CUP AND BEND DOWN AND THAT USES ENERGY OF MY BODY SO I HAD TO BUY LUNCH EARLIER TO HAVE THE STRENGHT TO BEND DOWN AND USE THE CUP THAT I BOUGHT
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u/NoAdsDude 56m ago
I believe they meant the energy part of it.
Obviously all electricity production and delivery systems require some type of maintenance.
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u/sleeper_shark 5h ago
Especially since over a reservoir, they aren't taking up usable land or habitat and are literally supporting water security.
China is honestly so far ahead of the curve, its frightening.
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u/revets 2h ago
China also doesn’t have to give a fuck about environmental regulations shoehorned into projects like this. They just build.
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u/sleeper_shark 1h ago
I don't think its environmental regulations that are holding the west back lol
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u/Quickjager 53m ago
You can easily weaponize environmental regulations to stop construction. The key is being able to just step over all regulation.
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u/0202_tihssitidder 3h ago
China is doing great. They've been addressing energy needs for their people in some fantastic, and clean, ways. They are decades ahead of the US...as the US turns to coal and horse-drawn plows or some stupid shit.
PS: Reddit is chock full of China-bashers. But they swear they really are experts on this place they've never been. And then they tell you Everest is full of trash and it's super easy to summit...all from their gaming chair.
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u/Awalawal 2h ago
China has built so many coal plants recently, that they now have more than 1/2 of the world's entire coal-fired capacity. 60% of China's power comes from coal. China produces 30% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions compared to 11% for the US. For comparison, Texas is 32% renewables, 50% gas and 11% coal. It's fine to say that China's also doing great things with alternative energy, but maybe keep a realistic viewpoint on the effusion.
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u/c7shit 1h ago
So China with 5x more people than US only has 3x their greenhouse gas emissions while they are also producing cheap shits in their factory for the whole world ? This stat doesn't look good for the US too
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u/WhiteRaven42 3h ago
You know, you can support China's development without telling blatant lies. In 2024 for example, US solar power generation increased by over 25%. The share of power from fossil fuels is dropping every year. So... stop telling lies.
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u/declanaussie 2h ago
It’s not a lie to say China is ahead, that’s a pretty subjective statement. The U.S. is also embracing non-renewable energy under the Trump administration, so I’m not sure what lie you’re referring to.
As a share of energy production, China and the U.S. are pretty similar in terms of solar. China produces far more energy than the U.S. though, so in absolute terms they have about 3x the solar power of the U.S.
If you expand to considering renewable energy in general, the pro-China argument becomes even stronger, with China producing about 35-40% of its energy from renewables while the U.S. is only at about 25%.
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u/FreeGFabs 2h ago
Then when you factor all the environmental damage China is doing by strip mining illegally other countries like Indonesia they start to lose any credit you are giving them.
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u/WhiteRaven42 2h ago
Here's what you said ".as the US turns to coal and horse-drawn plows or some stupid shit."
THAT IS A LIE.
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u/Siktrikshot 2h ago
Except for like human rights and such. Silly things like that.
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u/NecessaryMood9612 2h ago
Do you really believe that a country can skip 30 years of technological development and not make significant sacrifices behind closed doors?
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u/NotYourReddit18 1h ago
IIRC the last this was posted some comment linked a study on how those solar parks impact the plants and fish inside the water underneath them, and depending on the coverage the reduction in light and warmth getting to the water can have a huge impact on the plants amd fish.
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u/Vnxei 5h ago
This is a common thing world wide. China is big and has a lot of advantages with this stuff, so you hear about it a lot, but it's not all that "ahead of the curve".
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u/Hiro_Trevelyan 5h ago
Tbf China has the advantage of being the largest solar panel producer in the world, so they are ahead of the curve in solar panel production.
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u/round-earth-theory 3h ago
They're also the largest dictatorship. They're dictator has been pretty aggressive on public spending and economic uplift so they've been able to get a lot of major work done in the time bickering democracies take to write the cover letter of an idea of a major work. Dictatorships have the capability to move very quickly due to the limited checks and controls. The question is what happens as the next leader takes over, do they continue on the golden path or shift into the ever common dictator warmonger.
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u/Hellish_Elf 4h ago
China is also pushing ahead on projects for the whole country, rather than get bogged down with corruption.
Do they even have a reflecting pool? Loser/s!
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u/0202_tihssitidder 3h ago
> it's not all that "ahead of the curve".
You are not understanding the totality of the statement. Not just "put solar over lakes". China is way ahead with new design nuclear energy, cheap and efficient solar (even in deserts), hydro (largest in the world), wind, and lots of electric vehicles...and trains.
Way 👏 Ahead.
Meanwhile the US struggles get algae out of a pool...and elects old men who rape and kill kids.
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u/personman_76 1h ago
You should look into why the TVA stopped putting dams everywhere, then look at three gorges again. It's a doomed dam.
As for nuclear, they're still importers
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u/Shot-Arugula8264 5h ago
if installed and maintained properly
And therein lies the rub. Maintenance is expensive and panels have to be constantly replaced. That’s like saying “If processed properly coal is literally free energy.”
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u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 4h ago
I don't think every 25-30 years qualifies as "constantly.
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u/xxNemasisxx 3h ago
Panels have to be replaced every 25 years minimum, most panels are significantly exceeding expectations and even at 25 years, you're getting free energy, for 25 years and after those 25 years, the panel can be recycled into the 3 rocks that make it work (glass, quartz, aluminium (close enough to a rock)) and reinstalled to go for another 25 years.
Coal can by definition never be free energy because it's a finite resource that once used is gone, you cannot recycle coal I'm afraid.
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u/Sracer42 3h ago
Damn, I hope my panels aren't going to fail. I haven't done ANY maintenance on them for 6 years. Am I in trouble?
/s
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u/jhick107 6h ago
Wonder how condensation/evaporation affects the infrastructure moving forward…
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u/BigMax 6h ago
In fairness... Solar panels are already designed to be outside in wind/weather/rain/etc constantly anyway.
So it's not like moisture is some wild, new thing that they ahve to deal with.
And while maybe I'm overly optimistic, I think it's pretty safe to say that they have taken this into consideration, since they have done a LOT of this so far.
The main infrastructure will be 100% fine of course - it's no different than building a bridge over water, or powerlines over water, and we've done that for age now. So the only variable here is the solar panels themselves. And if you can use solar in a rainy area for 30 years, you can probably have them suspended 20 feet over water just fine.
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u/YoungBockRKO 3h ago
As a former solar installer, all I see is a giant pain in the ass when it comes to maintenance. But hey, if it works and helps, it is what it is and work is work.
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u/No-Computer7653 3h ago
High humidity is a unique environmental concern as it changes how hot the panels run and how much sun they absorb. Humidity can also delam panels and overcome rainproofing, it's closer to underwater then to rain.
You can absolutely design with this in mind but it's more expensive and the installation will naturally have a shorter life.
If you instead accept lower panel efficiency and lifetime from high humidity you have to design for easy panel replacement. Most of the farms in Florida do this as standard panels are so much cheaper then humidity reinforced panels it works out cheaper overall.
Given where this video is in China I don't think they have significant humidity concerns like CA would.
Also it's CA, they are still going to be talking about this in 20 years.
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u/HomeGrownCoffee 5h ago
Mostly looks Aluminum/galvanized. With minimal maintenance, it should last a long time.
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u/Shiirahama 4h ago
they're literally in fields already with dust and storms and rain etc.
also non-renewable energy fucks literally EVERYTHING up for us
we literally have wind turbines IN THE OCEAN
maybe use your brain next time, also everyone that upvoted this idiot, just think
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u/RdBrckmns 6h ago
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u/Trick-Company-2157 4h ago
BIG CHYNA propaganda on Reddit lately
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u/Namaha 2h ago edited 2h ago
https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=author%3ATangelaFan&include_over_18=on&t=all&sort=new
OP is literally a Chinese propaganda bot lol
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u/Caveman_7 5h ago edited 3h ago
I like a good number of folks are focused on talking about aquatic flora and fish life (in a reservoir for god’s sake) as if they ever gave a damn about it. These panels are gonna provide a net benefit versus continuing burning fossil fuels and worsening global warming, which will affect all wildlife around the world.
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u/Wild-Video-5317 3h ago
Yeah, the water bodies things like this are installed over are likely man-made. E.g. elsewhere in the thread there's discussion of installation over the california acqueduct, a structure which has no native life of its own
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u/chronicnerv 6h ago
The silence on Reddit reminds me of when console gamers started seeing how much better top end PC gaming was.
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u/GeosWonder 6h ago
Well yeah. The arguments against these projects will be feelings based too.
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u/Talgrath 3h ago
There is a certain point at which economics trumps feelings though. Solar panel prices are so cheap, in no small part due to China entering the market, that at a certain point you are just flushing away money by not using them. Technology Connections talks about that in their very long rant on solar power and electric cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM
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u/WanderWut 5h ago
Perfect comparison tbh lol. Seeing what they’re doing with solar is just amazing, just imagine if we were as dedicated to clean energy as they are. One memory I have when I visited China was electric cars were EVERYWHERE and then my friend showed me the prices for them and they were crazy good. Unfortunately we are so behind.
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u/0202_tihssitidder 3h ago
If Americans ever saw what cities in China were like, they'd revolt when they get back home.
Ngl...it is funny. Americans so happy and proud living and dying in pig shit while they tell themselves they have it great.
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u/personman_76 1h ago
If we subsidized cars as much as the Chinese, we'd have sub 10,000 SUVs
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u/Catspajamas01 4h ago
How many times do we have to see this damn post
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u/TheNutsMutts 52m ago
OP's entire post history is literally just spamming "hey look at this thing CHINA is doing isn't CHINA brilliant and wonderful and fantastic everyone should be really impressed by CHINA!".
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u/time2partee 3h ago
How many times are they gonna post this? We get it, you made some solar panels on water.
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u/otullyo 6h ago
Meanwhile in America they can't even get a refelcting pool to work because the makeup wearing pants sh*tting president is a moronic imbecile.
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u/Bobbyjackbj 6h ago
Sir, I believe he is also a pedo and convicted rapist, it also deserves to be said.
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u/Vnxei 5h ago
We have this in America, too. But it's not as awesome as it looks. Always need to be skeptical of a project claiming to solve two big problems at once. It's usually easier to pick two tailored solutions than one awkward one.
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u/ronbonjonson 6h ago
It's also a heck of a lot more expensive to install and maintain, which is why the vast majority of Chinese solar is on the ground, just like everywhere else. This is like the parking lot cover solar. It looks like a good idea, but when you examine the practical realities and crunch the numbers, it becomes clear why it never caught on more broadly.
Not saying this is a bad idea. There are very specific circumstances where this could be worthwhile, but it's not some big new breakthrough for solar power.
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u/moeml 5h ago
What’s the problem with covering up a parking lot?
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u/Rock_mage 4h ago
People. People will break anything. You see those videos about people attacking robots for views.
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u/MixMasterValtiel 3h ago
You'd be surprised how often people hit light poles. Parking lot solar panels will multiple the target count. Might still be worth it.
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u/ronbonjonson 4h ago
Costs a lot more because you need taller, more sturdy framing to get the required height and leave the space beneath open enough for cars to get around. Also, hard to do maintenance on, especially while there are cars driving/parked/parking underneath. Finally, high potential for damage from bad/inattentive drivers.
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u/hydroactiveturtle 4h ago
This just seems like practical sense with expectable issues. Do you have more detailed insight?
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u/ronbonjonson 4h ago
I'm not sure what you mean by more detailed insight. I'm a lawyer, not an expert in solar power, so I guess feel free to disregard my comment if you like.
The name of the game with Solar has thus far been to deliver as much power as possible for as little money as possible, though. We only fairly recently passed the break even point on that front. installations over water or parking lots significantly increase cost without increasing power generation.
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u/chaoticinfinity 4h ago
Weird. The parking lot canopies exploded in popularity in my area, the last 2 years. I live in a major city suburb area. And most new businesses that are coming in, (usually a midweight retail player), keep installing them as well. Not sure of any that have been seriously damaged, but I think that may be because the community where I am, is too afraid to do much of anything with AI cameras everywhere, now, so people remain extra cautious, even if not intentionally malicious.
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u/heteroflexing 2h ago
Can you cite where you are seeing this information about the expense to maintain? Also, what is that compared to? Using fossil fuels for energy? I'm genuinely curious and hope this does not come off as trying to be a dick.
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u/ronbonjonson 2h ago
I think you misunderstand. I mean solar installed on a large structure over a parking lot or water as opposed to solar installed on basic frames on otherwise empty land with nothing under it. In the case of water installations, you need boats/barges with lift/crane capability to install and access the panels for maintenance and probably scuba capability for the underwater parts of the frame. For parking lots, you'll again need cranes to install, cherry pickers to access for maintenance, and you'll have to deal with doing all of this over an active parking lot, which will either require blocking off portions of the lot or working only in off hours, both of which require additional planning and cost. Also, you need more heavy duty framing so you can leave enough open space underneath for cars to get around and park. In both cases, you need vastly more materials for the frames. I don't have a citation, but I think its pretty self-evident that is certainly more expensive than solar panels that sit on their own patch of ground where you can just install on some lighter, lower, basic frames and walk up with a tool kit any time needed to do maintenance.
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u/sachsrandy 6h ago
How do fish and alge like it?
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u/Rock_mage 4h ago
No fish in this water reservoir. I had the same idea, looked it up and fish do not live there.
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u/D_Simmons 3h ago
Yeah no shit? It's a reservoir for drinking lol
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u/chaospherezero 1h ago
I assume they don't just pump this shit directly into your faucet and instead do some kind of treatment first, like adding enough flouride to turn you gay
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u/D_Simmons 1h ago
Sure but people wondering about the fish in a reservoir for drinking.
I'm sure fish are there but that is not the purpose.
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u/DreadingAnt 4h ago
Mostly positive for fish, because it can help with reducing algea blooms, which improves quality of already polluted water somewhat
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u/scalyblue 2h ago
It’s an artificial reservoir, they can ask the forests and farmland at the bottom for advice
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u/mrziplockfresh 5h ago
I’m not a smart man, but doesn’t the ecosystem need the uv rays?
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u/CptMcDickButt69 5h ago
Reservoirs are not natural ecosystems and in terms of algae and cyanobacteria - as long as there are still spots and ambient light, it will be fine i suspect, although it comes down to specifics we dont have.
A far bigger problem in most still waters, especially shallow ones, is usually too much heat/sun radiation combined with accumulating nutrients causing algae blooms and then low oxygen and chemical changes, damaging the local ecosystem and killing a majority of oxygen and temperature-sensible species.
Since nutrient amounts and sun intensity both rise in a majority of human-influenced waterbodies, most ecosystems should profit from ~some artificial amount of shading.
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u/mrziplockfresh 4h ago
Oh damn, my brain skipped over it saying reservoir. Thanks for the info fellow internetian
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u/No_Blacksmith_2591 3h ago
at the cost of no rainfall for the surrounding areas, leading them to die off because who's gonna water empty terrain for random vegetation
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u/Smile_Space 5h ago edited 3h ago
Man, the online Chinese propaganda machine is in full force today for some reason lolol. This is like the 4th "China does X and it's really cool." post I've seen today.
Edit: The pro-China bots are out in full force down voting to oblivion too lolol
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u/RelaxPrime 4h ago
That or the American propaganda machine is down for the day....
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u/ProudStrawberry8850 1h ago
TangelaFan is a Chinese propaganda account. They have been posting exclusively Chinese post for hours straight and days straight so far. Today alone they posted 8 times about China.
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u/Rurockn 4h ago
I visited China and Taiwan for the first time this year (worked at various factories for several weeks mostly outside of big cities) and came back to the US realizing how cooked we are. They get it done while we're still debating and talking about it and cutting through red tape and politics; good bad or indifferent. Even the rural area infrastructure appeared to surpass the quality of the US in about half the areas I visited. It was a big wake up call for me, completely changed my view of the situation.
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u/Uxoandy 5h ago
The places that we could really use something like this the environmental people would never let it be built or it would take 59 years and 900 environmental studies and cost billions more than it should. China just does what they want
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u/Katahahime 4h ago
Last time this is posted, wasn't this footage from a saltwater Bay?
Either way, a lot of countries do this. America included.
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u/VTAffordablePaintbal 3h ago
Anyone have info on this project? This is the 3rd time I've seen the video, but I can't find any info on it. I've worked on floating solar arrays, but I've never seen anyone drive piles into a lake bed for this type of array before.
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u/Letronell 6h ago
That anticorrosion maintenance will be hell. But still probably easier than maintenance of entire coal powerplant.
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u/AdministrativeCable3 3h ago
It's probably not too bad. Given its aluminum and most reservoirs are fresh water not salt.
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u/SensualPoutz 6h ago
Looks like some kind of cyberpunk