Balearics wants to develop floating solar panel farms off the coast

The vice-president and minister for energy transition, Juan Pedro Yllanes, has asked central government to consider giving the green light to the use of floating solar panels as well as the option of floating windmills.

Floating solar panels are PV modules mounted on platforms that float on water reservoirs, lakes, and where conditions are right in seas and oceans.

These solar panels floating on water are more challenging and costly to construct, but they do generate clean energy. Using renewable energy helps reduce dependence on fossil-fuel generated electricity. As a result, there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and this is what Yllanes is keen to explore, with the intention of adapting them to the Balearics.

How the nautical industry responds remains to the seen because, due to the large scale of the floating farms, they could be considered dangerous obstacles.

It is early days, but any such development would sit well with the Balearic drive for a more sustainable community for the future.