Advantages of Developing Floating Photovoltaic Systems

Promoting the development of renewable energy and implementing renewable energy substitution actions is an inevitable choice to ensure national energy security. It is a beautiful vision and grand blueprint proposed in the 14th Five Year Plan for the modern energy system, as well as a major measure to promote the energy revolution and build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.

The development and utilization of solar energy resources is an important representative of China's transition towards renewable energy development, with enormous potential to meet global energy demand. Over the past decade, the scale of the photovoltaic industry has expanded at an average annual growth rate of 133%. In 2008, the total installed capacity of solar photovoltaics worldwide was approximately 10.5 GW, and it quickly reached nearly 125 GW in 2018. Keeping up with the global pace and vigorously promoting the rational utilization of solar energy resources is in line with the needs of the times and global strategy. The offshore floating photovoltaic system uses solar energy as its energy source. It is a key technology for China to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and to practice green development. The development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems helps to strengthen China's power grid interconnection with neighboring countries and improve the internationalization level of the new energy industry. It is strong evidence of China's deep participation in the world's energy transformation.

The development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems meets the demands of industry development. China is currently in the stage of energy industry innovation, and vigorously developing offshore floating photovoltaic systems is in line with the needs of further enhancing the leading role of scientific and technological innovation, comprehensively improving the advanced level of the energy industry foundation, and modernizing the industrial chain. In recent years, China's new energy development, represented by wind and photovoltaic power generation, has achieved significant results. However, large-scale land photovoltaics occupy a large amount of land, limiting the development of agriculture and other industries. The implementation of offshore floating photovoltaic systems can not only improve the efficiency of national spatial resource utilization, but also effectively improve the efficiency of marine resource utilization through the complementary and integrated development of "wind light fishing". In addition, the combination of various forms such as offshore wind power generation and offshore photovoltaic power generation has enhanced the coordinated and optimized operation capability of China's new power system.

The development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems is beneficial for boosting regional economy. The construction of offshore floating photovoltaic systems can provide significant assistance to the regional economy, and related industries are more conducive to promoting the development of the photovoltaic industrial park economy, promoting the expansion of emerging industrial chains such as photovoltaic module recycling, and providing a large number of employment opportunities for coastal cities, thereby driving further regional economic development. Various regions across the country have provided a series of subsidies and preferential policies for the development of offshore photovoltaics. For example, Shandong Province has listed offshore photovoltaics as a key project of the province, enjoying preferential policies such as exemption from construction or leasing of energy storage facilities, priority participation in market-oriented transactions of distributed power generation, and corresponding rent reductions for sea area use. This helps us drive attention and investment from all sectors in offshore photovoltaic projects, thereby improving regional economic development freedom through corresponding industrial development and injecting strong impetus into the regional economy.
  
The development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems will effectively reduce the electricity costs of coastal cities in China. With the technological and model innovation of China's photovoltaic industrial parks, the cost of photovoltaic panels has been decreasing year by year. It is expected that by 2030 and 2050, the average cost of photovoltaic panels will be $340 to 834/kW and $165 to 481/kW, respectively, while in 2018, this price was $1210/kW. The cost of offshore photovoltaic power generation has been greatly reduced, thereby saving the electricity costs of coastal cities in China.

The development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems also contributes to theoretical and technological innovation in related technical fields. The construction of offshore floating photovoltaic systems relies on advanced theories and technological support from multiple disciplines, and the industrialization process promotes theoretical innovation and achievement transformation in related scientific and technological fields. The construction of offshore floating photovoltaic systems is a complex and interdisciplinary system engineering, including materials science, ecological environment science, marine engineering, and geotechnical engineering. For example, from the perspective of materials science, cadmium chloride is the main component of photovoltaic solar cells, but its high toxicity and cost can affect the funding and production progress of solar cells. The abundant magnesium chloride in the ocean can replace the highly toxic and expensive cadmium chloride. 

From the perspective of marine engineering, safe, economical upper floating structures seabed anchoring foundation structures urgently require new design theories and methods to meet the development needs of floating photovoltaic systems in different marine environments.

In summary, the development of offshore floating photovoltaic systems based on solar energy can not only effectively improve the efficiency of marine resource utilization, but also contribute to the development of regional economy. It reduces the electricity cost of coastal cities in China. It is an important measure to promote theoretical and technological innovation in related technological fields.