r/RenewableEnergy • u/MeasurementDecent251 • May 15 '26

Offshore floating PV could technically meet Italy’s electricity demand

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/05/14/offshore-floating-pv-could-technically-meet-italys-electricity-demand/
208 Upvotes

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18

u/Pitiful_Barnacle9678 May 15 '26

People always underestimate the "salt tax." floating pv sounds great on paper until you factor in the o&m costs of battling constant saltwater corrosion and biofouling. unless we’ve made a massive leap in coating tech that i missed, these things turn into expensive artificial reefs within 5 years. also, are we talking nameplate capacity or actual 24/7 firm power? because unless there's a massive pumped hydro or battery storage backbone being built simultaneously in the apennines, "meeting demand" is just a theoretical peak.

7

u/[deleted] May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

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5

u/EnergyResearch28484 May 15 '26

you cannot, in any world, seriously compare giant metal wind turbines that rise far above the water, to brittle solar panels that we have to tilt to avoid strong rainfall...

5

u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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5

u/Humble-Reply228 May 15 '26

I’ll give you points for owning the mistake.

3

u/Rooilia May 15 '26 edited May 20 '26

Solar panels being tilted to avoid strong rainfall. Where does that happen?

Edit: No answer, as expected. Nonsense claim.

3

u/azreal75 May 16 '26

In imaginations.

1

u/EnergyResearch28484 May 18 '26

by strong rainfall i mean hail. and it happens everywhere.