Most of us are familiar with offshore wind energy projects, but could the next wave, so to speak, in clean energy be offshore solar arrays? Australian solar power company, Sunenergy, has partnered with India's Tata Power to build a pilot project for a floating solar energy plant.
The floating solar power units, called Liquid Solar Arrays (LSA), use concentrated photovoltaic technology where a lenses direct the light onto solar cells and move throughout the day to follow the sun.
The company says the advantage to floating a solar power plant is that it erases the need for expensive structures to protect it from inclement weather and high winds -- when rough weather comes along, the lenses just submerge. Floating on water, whether it be the ocean, a lake or a tiny pond, also keeps the solar cells cool, which increases their efficiency and lifespan.
According to Treehugger, Sunenergy will begin construction of the project in August of this year and has a larger build-out planned for 2012.
Check out this video mockup of how the floating solar panels could track the sun for maximum efficiency:
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