An 8.9 MW floating solar power plant on the Canoe Brook Reservoir in Short Hills, New Jersey, US has become the 'largest' floating PV array to have come online in North America, according to New Jersey Resources (NJR), and will provide close to 95% of the power needs for New Jersey American Water's Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant.
The project with 16,510 solar panels and a racking system covers 17 acres of surface space on the reservoir. It is owned and operated by NJR's renewable energy subsidiary NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV). It is the latter's 2nd floating solar project. Previously it brought online a 4.4 MW array in Sayreville, New Jersey.
"This initiative provides a meaningful reduction of traditional energy use that benefits the environment, as well as our customers through limited capital expense and reduced power costs," said New Jersey American Water's President Mark McDonough.
Floating solar PV plants, though costlier than ground mounted projects, are increasingly gaining traction as these help save land. Also, since most of such projects are located on lakes and reservoirs, these save water from evaporation. Offshore floating PV is currently not as popular since the equipment needs to be tested to withstand harsh marine environment.
According to a recent market research by Wood Mackenzie, the US floating PV market is likely to grow roughly at 13% CAGR over the next decade as global annual capacity is expected to exceed the 6 GW threshold by 2031 (see Growth For Floating Solar With Growing PV Demand).
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