Biggest floating solar yet

Europe’s biggest ever floating solar panel array is being installed on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir as part of Thames Water’s bid to self-generate a third of its own energy by 2020. It will have a total installed peak capacity of 6.3 MW.

Just over 23,000 solar photovoltaic panels will be floated on the reservoir near Walton-on-Thames, utilising a normally redundant suburban space on the surface, following an agreement between Thames Water, Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy.

The innovative floating pontoon will cover around a tenth of the reservoir. The energy produced will be used to help power the nearby water treatment works.