Time to read: 7 minutes
Date: December 6, 2022
For decades, scientists, engineers, and analysts have championed the idea of solar for many applications and reasons all with the same goals. These goals range from the conservation of natural resources to balancing the scales on climate-related changes and many others. For many of us, we look to alternative energy to stake independence or normalcy on a fluctuating electricity bill, protecting our assets in harsh weather, and helping the environment whether it’s by sustaining bees or shaded crops. But often, a big reason that Texans make the switch to solar is for a combination of these reasons.
Reducing electricity bills and helping the environment is often one of the big reasons that Texans make the switch to solar. It’s no secret that Texans love their states environment, and being good stewards of the Lone Star State are great reasons to go solar. Other countries have dedicated decades to becoming carbon-neutral. Solar power is now something that can help out with another environmental cause, one that other countries have addressed in designs with the environment in mind that is extremely important in a state as dry as Texas: water conservation.
In this article, we’re going to be exploring how solar power can help reduce water consumption and ultimately assist in decreasing overall water usage levels. On top of that, we’ll also be exploring an exciting way that some areas are combining solar arrays with existing bodies of water.
Conventional power plants use incredibly high amounts of water
When it comes to generating electrical power, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants consume massive amounts of water. For perspective, a coal-fired power plant could require as much as 12 million gallons of water per hour. Nuclear power plants can use up to a whopping billion gallons of water every day.
The reason that a conventional electrical power plant needs so much water is to cool itself down. According to a U.S. geological survey, power plants in the U.S. were responsible for 45% of total water withdrawals in 2010. These plants require so much water that they have to be built next to rivers or large bodies of water.
Another area involved in producing energy that uses large amounts of water is fracking. This process uses liquid that is mostly made up of water to crack rocks underground in order to extract fuel like natural gas or oil. How much water does this method use? Between 2005 and 2014, fracking used around 250 million gallons of water resulting in 210 billion gallons of wastewater. Power plants are a large part of this cycle, as they use natural gas to produce electricity and need vast amounts of water to do so.
Solar power requires little to no water
It’s true that water is required to manufacture solar panels, but aside from that, solar power doesn’t require water usage. In fact, the more solar power there is, the less water is wasted through power plants. Let’s explore a few of the benefits that solar power has over conventional power plants.
- Solar panels need increasingly less water to be produced. While solar panels need water to be manufactured, methods are constantly being improved to reduce how much water is required to make them.
- No other fuel sources are used to create electricity. While a power plant will need costly natural gas, coal, or nuclear power to create electricity, solar powered systems just need sunshine to power everything you need. Solar panels produce electricity even on cloudy days.
- No need for water to generate power. Every power plant that uses coal, natural gas, or nuclear power uses unbelievable amounts of water for cooling, which produces huge amounts of waste water. Solar panels are able to generate a unit of electricity with only 1/200th of the water needed by conventional power plants.
On top of this, there is a type of solar array that makes use of existing bodies of water in a way that reduces evaporation while generating electricity. This type of solar array is an exceptionally unique and incredibly innovative form of agrivoltaics. Instead of mounting the solar arrays on the ground in areas on land, these solar arrays are installed on floating platforms in bodies of water. Say hello to floatovoltaics!
What on earth is floatovoltaics?
The word “floatovoltaics” is a fun play on the word “photovoltaics”. This is a term that’s come up for floating solar arrays that are a fairly recent breakthrough with solar power technology. Farms, ranches, and vineyards with irrigation reservoirs or similar bodies of water can use this space to power their operation with solar panels. Need a solid example? A vineyard in Napa Valley went 100% solar back in 2008 by installing floating solar panels in their irrigation reservoir. As a side note, most Texans may not have a body of water to use a floatovoltaic system. The vast majority of our community members install ground-mounted solar arrays.
One of the most interesting things about using solar to conserve water is that bodies of water can be used to produce electricity with a solar array.
While this is an amazing way to use solar, it was a costly installation at the time. On average, a floating solar array is still more expensive than the standard roof or ground mounted solar arrays. The good news is that the cost to switch to solar has become more affordable than ever over the last decade. Tax incentives and rebates from utility companies are able to help Texans get the solar powered system that they need.
So what are the benefits? Let’s take a look.
There are several benefits to having solar arrays placed on bodies of water.
- Decreased rates of evaporation Having a solar array installed on a body of water can help keep a good deal of it from evaporating. The installation for the vineyard in Napa Valley that was mentioned earlier was able to reduce the evaporation of the irrigation reservoir by 70%.
- No shade required The bodies of water are usually large enough that there is no chance that shade produced by trees or other structures will block the sunlight the solar panels need. This means that as long as there is some degree of sunshine that power is being generated.
- It’s an effective use of space The bodies of water that the solar panels are installed on aren’t being used for much else. This means that using a water-mounted solar array doesn’t require you to use space that already has a building or is being used for something else. These solar arrays can also be used in areas with hydroelectric dam reservoirs, drinking water reservoirs, or wastewater treatment ponds.
- Solar panels are extremely durable The incredible durability that solar panels have makes them perfect for usage in a floating solar array. We’ve written before on how solar arrays in Florida were able to survive a hurricane that devastated the areas around it. While floating solar arrays aren’t mounted in the same way as a ground mounted installation, they absolutely stand up to the elements.
Now for the elephant in the room. Doesn’t floatovoltaics use water if you have to install a solar array on a body of water? While a water-mounted solar array takes up a body of water, it doesn’t consume water. A coal, nuclear, or natural gas power plant consumes water to cool itself in a “closed-cycle” where the water goes through a process. Put simply, this process takes water, heats it into steam to produce electricity, then condenses it back to water to re-use it again. When the condenser cools the steam in order to convert it back into liquid, heat is released through a cooling tower, where evaporated water escapes. This evaporated water is “consumed”, meaning that it does not return to the cooling system or even as rain to be used again locally.
A solar array mounted in an irrigation reservoir will not use up the water that is there. Think of it as having a symbiotic relationship with the water rather than just using it up. The solar array uses the space without removing water from the environment. In fact, it actually keeps more water from being lost to evaporation.
Water you waiting for? Become part of the change to help conserve Texan resources by switching to solar today!
Conserving water by switching to a solar powered system is a fantastic way to help water conservation. A solar powered system can reduce the amount of water used by Texas power plants as well as your dependence on them. You also don’t need to worry about installing a floating solar array to help get all the benefits! Roof mounted solar panels catch all the constant sunshine that Texas is known for to power your home! Now that solar power is more affordable than ever and winter may only get colder, this is the perfect time to install solar panels with backup batteries and a home standby generator. Whether it’s for your home or business, IES Texas Solar has you covered.
If you are considering switching to solar for your home or business, reach out to us by going to our website, iestxsolar.com, or by giving us a call at (855) 447-6527.
Sources:
https://news.energysage. com/floating-solar-what-you-need-to-know/ https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/thermoelectric-power-water-use https://diygogreen.com/2017/11/10/7-ways-that-solar-panels-save-water/ https://www.dynamicslr.com/floating-solar-panels/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/12/12/100-renewables-means-95-less-water-consumption-for-conventional-power-generation/ https://www.genusinnovation.com/blogs/solar-panels-save-water https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/making-electricity-consumes-a-lot-of-water-whats-the-best-way-to-fix-that/
