Calm seas near the equator: ideal location for solar farms?

The densely populated regions of Southeast Asia and West Africa may face space constraints when building solar farms in the future. One potential solution is fields of solar panels floating on calm seas near the equator. According to an article published by The Conversation, such solutions have "unlimited" potential to provide large amounts of energy and also address the challenge of siting large installations.

According to a study by David Silalahi and Andrew Blakers, floating solar panels in Indonesian waters alone could generate up to 35 000 TWh of electricity a year, more than current global electricity production.

While storms affect most of the world's oceans, some areas near the equator are relatively calm and therefore suitable for considering installations of this kind. Relatively inexpensive engineering structures could therefore be enough to protect floating solar panels at sea.

Global heat maps indicate that the Indonesian archipelago and equatorial West Africa near Nigeria have the greatest potential for offshore photovoltaics.