Floating solar increases greenhouse gas emissions on small ponds | Cornell Chronicle

A recent field study revealed that floating solar panels, while effective in utilizing water bodies for energy, may increase greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 27% in small ponds. Conducted at the Cornell Experimental Pond Facility, researchers found significant declines in dissolved oxygen levels, which can disrupt ecological systems. This study stands out as the first empirical evidence on the ecological impacts of floating solar versus previous predictive models. The implications are critical, especially as floating solar developments grow in the U.S., including New York, where small lakes and ponds are prime sites for such technology.

"There have been a flurry of papers about floating solar, but it's mostly modeling and projections. This is the first manipulative study to produce empirical results."

"If you put floating solar on there, you're drastically reducing oxygen availability for organisms, you're messing with ecological processes, how decomposition takes place... It's all connected."

Read at Cornell Chronicle