It is most likely not stunning that California and Texas are two of the states with probably the most photo voltaic panels, since they’ve a variety of land mass and loads of sunshine all year long. With a brand new analysis venture occurring in Arkansas, although, perhaps the Diamond State will turn out to be well-known for enhanced photo voltaic vitality manufacturing. The Arkansas analysis venture might assist with the issue that some individuals have with the thought of changing farmland to photo voltaic manufacturing.
The venture is going on via the College of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. It entails floating 96 photo voltaic panels on a tiny phase of a 40-acre rice reservoir close to Stuttgart, which is in east-central Arkansas. The experiment is going on on the Rice Analysis and Extension Middle, which is a analysis space for serving to Arkansas farmers with rice manufacturing. By putting the panels over a physique of water, the researchers hope to point out they’ll generate electrical energy with photo voltaic panels with out taking farmland out of manufacturing and alleviate a few of the considerations over putting in photo voltaic farms.
A photo voltaic panel set up of this dimension ought to generate about 70 kilowatts of vitality, that means this format is small. The analysis crew deliberate to set up the panels in Could, however Professor Michael Popp, who’s main the analysis, advised BGR that the timeline now requires putting in the panels by the tip of 2026. The analysis stays centered on figuring out the most effective operational and upkeep strategies to make use of for floating photo voltaic panels in Arkansas’ local weather and climate.
How floating photo voltaic panels might assist considerations over farmland
Photo voltaic farms are shortly being put in throughout the USA, and second quarter 2026 installations outpaced second quarter 2025 installations by 45%, in line with the Photo voltaic Vitality Industries Affiliation. Nevertheless, these installations are sparking controversy about changing farmland with photo voltaic farms. Floating photo voltaic farms symbolize one choice for conserving farmland.
The concept of utilizing floating photo voltaic farms, known as floatovoltaics, just isn’t new. A number of hundred such tasks are already put in all over the world. One floating photo voltaic farm within the Netherlands is positively affecting underwater habitats, for instance. A analysis crew from Oregon State College and the U.S. Geological Survey studied 11 photo voltaic panel installations on reservoirs in six totally different states, studying that the consequences of the tasks on the encircling atmosphere and the our bodies of water various primarily based on location. Popp advised BGR that the crew might be reviewing the Oregon State research as they get nearer to the precise panel set up date.
Along with displaying the viability of utilizing floating photo voltaic panels as a substitute of placing them on farmland, Arkansas’ researchers might be measuring how a lot the photo voltaic panels can scale back water evaporation by partially masking the floor of the reservoirs. The researchers may even measure whether or not the panels can scale back algal progress on the water by stopping daylight from instantly reaching the water floor.
How the Arkansas floatovoltaics analysis venture will work
The 96 floating photo voltaic panels on the Rice Analysis and Extension Middle will solely occupy about 0.1 acre on a 40-acre reservoir. Researchers plan to position anchors within the reservoir mattress to carry buoys in place that may help the panels when set up happens. The plan requires researchers to position one other 24 panels on the embankment of the reservoir.
After set up, Popp mentioned the panels ought to have a helpful lifespan of 30 years. He mentioned the crew hopes to have some preliminary analysis information in hand by the center of 2027. As a result of the analysis space is situated within the Mississippi Flyway, researchers may even measure whether or not the floating panels have an effect on migratory birds who use the reservoirs. Geese and geese are likely to winter in Arkansas and start flying north once more in February and March. “We’re not putting in a really giant system however plan on making observations about wildlife interactions,” Popp mentioned to BGR.
A photo voltaic vitality analysis venture like that is acceptable for Arkansas, which isn’t any stranger to photo voltaic panel installations. A brand new photo voltaic farm in northeast Arkansas will serve a Google information heart within the state, producing nearly 2.5 gigawatts of direct present upon completion in 2029. On the time of this writing, Arkansas had 73 photo voltaic farms in operation with a complete working capability of just about 2.8 gigawatts. One other 103 deliberate photo voltaic farms have been introduced with an anticipated capability of greater than 21 gigawatts.
