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Solar Farm on the Ocean : The Pros and Cons of China's Largest Offshore Solar Project

How To Protect The Ocean

Release Date: 11/22/2024

Red Tide, Decoded: Why It Isn't Random, and How to Track It show art Red Tide, Decoded: Why It Isn't Random, and How to Track It

How To Protect The Ocean

No smell. No warning. Just a beach full of people who start coughing at the same time, grab their towels, and leave. That's red tide, and it feels completely random until you know what's actually happening in the water. Karenia brevis, the algae behind it, produces a toxin called brevetoxin that rides the wind and waves into the air along the shoreline, which is why people can start coughing with no visible sign anything's wrong. The 2017 to 2019 Southwest and Southeast Florida bloom cost the region an estimated $2.7 billion, mostly in tourism losses, and it wasn't a freak event. Follow the...

info_outline Nature's Kidneys: How Coastal Wetlands Stop Ocean Pollution show art Nature's Kidneys: How Coastal Wetlands Stop Ocean Pollution

How To Protect The Ocean

Green water. A smell that won't go away. Sometimes, dead fish washing up on shore. That's what too much nitrogen does to a coastline, and it's easy to hear stories like this and feel like the ocean is just losing. This episode is the opposite of that. Here's what most people don't know: a healthy stretch of marsh or mangrove can pull nitrogen straight out of the water before it ever becomes a problem. A single restored 100-acre wetland cut nearby ammonia by 62 percent and total nitrogen by 37 percent, and saved local water systems about $17,000 a year, all within three years. Then there's...

info_outline Blue Nitrogen: The Nutrient Story Coastal Wetlands Have Been Hiding show art Blue Nitrogen: The Nutrient Story Coastal Wetlands Have Been Hiding

How To Protect The Ocean

Every time this podcast talks about coastal wetlands, the conversation goes straight to carbon. Marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and lock it in soil for centuries, and that story has earned coastal ecosystems a real seat at the climate table. Dr. Adam Langley, a global change ecologist and professor of biology at Villanova University and a research associate at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, thinks there's a second story hiding in that same soil that could matter just as much, or more: nitrogen. Langley and 37 co-authors just...

info_outline Who Pays for Plastic? Inside the Law Quietly Shifting the Bill to Producers show art Who Pays for Plastic? Inside the Law Quietly Shifting the Bill to Producers

How To Protect The Ocean

For decades, the honest answer to "who pays to deal with plastic packaging once it leaves the shelf" was taxpayers, quietly, through municipal budgets that funded garbage trucks and recycling plants running at a loss, whether or not the packaging actually got recycled. That's the system extended producer responsibility (EPR) is built to replace: a legal requirement that the companies making and selling packaging fund what happens to it after a customer buys the product, not the city that collects it afterward. Seven US states have now passed packaging EPR laws. Oregon has been charging...

info_outline Inside Ocean Conservancy's Fight to Make Washing Machine Filters the Law show art Inside Ocean Conservancy's Fight to Make Washing Machine Filters the Law

How To Protect The Ocean

Ocean Conservancy's "Not Safe for Wash" campaign is built around a simple premise: the fix for washing machine microfiber pollution already exists, so the fight isn't about inventing new technology, it's about forcing a nearly two-decade-old idea into law. Its own May 2026 poll of 1,010 Americans found concern about microplastics up 32% since 2023, nearly 9 in 10 people concerned, and 81% in favor of requiring filters on new washing machines. The public isn't the obstacle. The real opponent is AHAM, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the trade group representing the companies...

info_outline Your Washing Machine Sheds Up to 18 Million Microfibers a Load show art Your Washing Machine Sheds Up to 18 Million Microfibers a Load

How To Protect The Ocean

Every wash cycle sheds plastic. Last Monday, Andrew talked with Dr. Anja Brandon of Ocean Conservancy about microfiber pollution, and one question from that conversation stuck with him: has anyone actually fixed this yet? In this solo follow-up, Andrew traces a microfiber's actual path, from the moment agitation, heat, and detergent work it loose from a shirt, through the drain, into a wastewater treatment plant, and out the other side into biosolids, farmland, rivers, and the ocean, with a growing body of research suggesting some of it ends up in human lungs and even in the human placenta....

info_outline Can Bacteria Actually Eat Plastic? show art Can Bacteria Actually Eat Plastic?

How To Protect The Ocean

Bacteria that eat plastic sounds like the fix everyone's been waiting for, and Andrew gets sent videos about it constantly. So on this solo episode, following Monday's interview with Dr. Anja Brandon of Ocean Conservancy, he goes looking for the real state of the science. The short version: it's promising, it's roughly a decade of real research deep, and it is nowhere close to running at the scale the ocean plastic crisis actually needs. The bacterium that started this whole field, Ideonella sakaiensis, was discovered breaking down PET plastic in Japan in 2016. A 2025 breakthrough from NREL,...

info_outline The 90 Percent Fix Hiding in Your Laundry Room show art The 90 Percent Fix Hiding in Your Laundry Room

How To Protect The Ocean

Every time you run a load of laundry, your washing machine sheds plastic. Not metaphorically: synthetic clothing made from polyester, nylon, and rayon releases microfibers with every wash, and depending on the study, a single load can shed anywhere from a few hundred thousand to millions of them. Most of us have never thought about it, because unlike a plastic bag on the beach, you can't see it happening. In this episode, Andrew talks with Dr. Anja Brandon, Director of Plastics Policy at Ocean Conservancy, about the plastic pollution problem hiding in plain sight behind the more familiar...

info_outline A New PBS Documentary Wants You to Care About Coral. Meet the Man Behind It. show art A New PBS Documentary Wants You to Care About Coral. Meet the Man Behind It.

How To Protect The Ocean

A new documentary called Descent – Into the Blue starts airing on public television stations nationwide on September 1, 2026. It's narrated by Peter Coyote, directed by Rory Fielding, and one of its central voices is Mike Goldberg, co-founder of the Florida Keys coral restoration nonprofit I.CARE and owner of Key Dives in Islamorada. Andrew sits down with Mike for the full, unedited version of the conversation this week's four solo episodes have been building toward: 30-plus years running a dive shop, more than 10,000 dives, and a front-row seat to watching the reefs he built his life around...

info_outline Show Me the Receipts: Why I.CARE Monitors Every Coral It Plants show art Show Me the Receipts: Why I.CARE Monitors Every Coral It Plants

How To Protect The Ocean

Most coral restoration groups check on a sample of what they've planted, often around 20 to 30 percent, and report that sample as if it represents everything in the water. I.CARE checks on all of it. Every single coral outplant gets monitored at one week, one month, 90 days, then one, two, and three years, with no substitute and nothing left unaccounted for. That rule was built in by co-founders Mike Goldberg and Dr. Kylie Smith before I.CARE ever planted its first coral, and Mike frames it as a matter of fiduciary duty, the same obligation he'd expect from anyone handling someone else's...

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The largest solar farm on the ocean is now running off the coast of China as the country continues to invest in ways to support its sustainable energy needs. 

In the "How to Protect the Ocean" podcast, host Andrew Lewin discusses China's deployment of the world's largest open sea offshore solar panel farm. The project, developed by CHN Energy, spans 1,223 hectares (3,023 acres) and is located 8 kilometers off the coast of China. It aims to generate one gigawatt of renewable energy and is notable for its innovative use of offshore solar technology.

Pros of the Offshore Solar Project

  1. Efficient Land Use: Utilizing water bodies for solar energy reduces the need for land clearing and habitat destruction typically associated with land-based solar farms.

  2. Reduced Evaporation: The solar panels cover the water surface, which can help conserve water by reducing evaporation rates in reservoirs and agricultural areas.

  3. Improved Solar Efficiency: The cooling effect of water can enhance the efficiency of solar panels compared to those installed on land.

  4. Dual Use Potential: Floating solar farms can coexist with hydroelectric facilities, optimizing energy production and utilizing existing infrastructure.

  5. Algal Bloom Reduction: The solar panels can help suppress harmful algal blooms in aquatic systems by limiting sunlight penetration.

  6. Clean Energy Generation: The project contributes to renewable energy production, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.

Cons of the Offshore Solar Project

  1. Impact on Aquatic Systems: The shade from solar panels may alter water temperature and light penetration, potentially disrupting habitats for aquatic plants and animals.

  2. Habitat Disruption: The solar farm installation could affect fish spawning areas and migratory patterns, similar to concerns raised about wind farms.

  3. Material Degradation: Using plastics and metals in solar structures could lead to microplastic contamination and chemical pollution over time.

  4. Recreational Disruption: Floating solar farms may hinder recreational activities, fishing, and navigation in the area.

  5. Installation Risks: The anchoring and cabling required for the solar systems could disturb sediments and harm local aquatic habitats.

  6. Vulnerability to Weather Events: The structures may be susceptible to damage from storms, hurricanes, and flooding, potentially releasing debris or pollutants into the water.

The episode emphasizes the need for careful planning and mitigation strategies to address the potential environmental concerns associated with floating solar farms. While the project presents a promising opportunity for renewable energy generation, it also raises important questions about the ecological impacts on marine environments. The host encourages listeners to engage in the conversation about the balance between renewable energy development and ocean conservation.

Link to article: https://electrek.co/2024/11/14/china-worlds-largest-open-sea-offshore-solar-farm/

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