Electricity has become one of the most important commodities in the region thanks to demand from datacenters, Iran war and rising utility charges
For decades, the only regular visitors to the Twin Lake Reservoir in Lima, Ohio, were fishers passing hot summer evenings trying to snag a largemouth bass.
But today, it’s a hive of activity.
A team of 12 engineers and construction workers are busily connecting more than 3,400 solar arrays to small, floating docks and distributing them across four acres of the reservoir’s surface water.
The electricity generated by the floating photovoltaics will be used to power a nearby water treatment plant, where electricity-powered pumps run 24 hours a day, year-round.
We can put them over water to keep lakes vibrant and thriving, over parking lots or some uncovered roads to provide shade and generally keep the temperature down, on buildings and warehouses to power entire sections of a city, but oil exists so that’s all blocked by red tape and restrictions.