Floating solar offers unique bargains — U.S. utilities are missing out

Solar arrays floating on man-made bodies of water can now be cost-competitive with ground-mounted solar and offer unique benefits to utilities. While the technology has a number of advantages, growth in the U.S. has been limited by a lack of definitive data on benefits and financing obstacles due to banks that are reluctant to loan money for projects. Floating photovoltaic (FPV) solar, sometimes called "floatovoltaics," is still a peculiarity in the U.S., but the technology has been proven commercially viable in over 100 projects globally. The world's first commercial-scale project was built in California, but in the last two years, China has seized the opportunity and now holds over 90% of the world's 1.1 GW installed capacity, according to an October 2018 World Bank report.