Australian company Infratech has signed a deal with the city of Holtville in California to manufacture the 1MW floating solar system.
The system will consist of 3576 panels, 276 rafts and 12 treatment pumps and will float on the surface and power a new water treatment plant to be used for the town’s drinking water supply and irrigation.
The city is near to the San Andreas Fault and so energy infrastructure has to be able to withstand earthquakes and tremors.
The floating system can shift on the surface in the instance of tremors and is purpose-built to withstand waves.
The system is scheduled to be installed and operational by mid-2016.
Infratech is working on the project with the Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology at Flinders University in South Australia.
Holtville Council Member David Bradshaw said: “Our decision to use Infratech’s floating solar system means we are not losing valuable farmland to massive solar farms; we can use three existing ponds and save our soil for increasing our capacity to produce crops.”
Image: a similar system to one to be deployed in Holtville was tested in Australia (Infratech)
