Solar farms may be used to generate energy

 Solar farms may be used to generate energy

Solar energy is being employed for a wide range of purposes. Solar panels generate energy, convert sunlight into potable water, and can even convert sunlight into fuel via CO2 capture - but only on land until recently!

Now, a group of Swiss and Norwegian experts believes that solar islands made up of solar panels that are clustered together can transform the carbon dioxide in seawater into liquid methanol. This fuel could replace fossil fuels in airplanes and trucks. These floating islands have the potential to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels. The researchers got the concept for the floating Solar Farm Cove after the Norwegian government wanted them to deploy massive fish farms out in the open sea, and the systems needed their energy source. "Energy 'generating' islands was proposed some time ago," Andreas Borgshulte, one of the paper's co-authors, told Newsweek. " All that was left was to incorporate energy storage."

Methanol burns cleaner than fossil fuels and might be utilized for long-distance transportation, but it is insufficient. According to Patterson, the Solar installation Farm Cove will not be a "silver bullet" in the fight against climate change. The methanol islands are comparable to floating fish farms that are currently in use. Each cluster will comprise around 70 spherical solar panels, or islands, covering an area of around half a square mile (1.29 square kilometers). The panels would generate electricity by splitting water and isolating hydrogen, which would then combine with saltwater carbon dioxide to form methanol.