Photovoltaic cells were only used for specific applications such as those of the space and military industries until their prices significantly decreased at the end of the nineties, making it possible to employ them for other applications such as large solar farms. For this reason, the litterature regarding such installations is relatively new. Technical documents: • Design and Optimization of a Wave Driven Solar Tracker for Floating Photovoltaic Plants. Authors: Ruoyu Xu, Chongfeng Liu, Hengli Liu, Zhenglong Sun, Tin Lun Lam, and Huihuan Qian. • Performance enhancement of solar powered floating photovoltaic system using arduino approach. Authors: Nur Amirah Abdul Jamil, Siti Amely Jumaat, Suriana Salimin, Mohd Noor Abdullah, Ahmad Fateh Mohamad Nor. • A Review on Floating Photovoltaic Technology (FPVT). Authors: Hasnain Yousuf, Muhammad Quddamah Khokhar, Muhammad Aleem Zahid, Jaeun Kim, Youngkuk Kim, Eun-Chel Cho, Young Hyun Cho, Junsin Yi. • Dynamic response of the mooring system in the floating photovoltaic power station. Authors: Fei Yu, Yi Su, Yuliang Liu, Haibo Liu, Fei Duan. • Solar floating photovoltaic power station unit Structural simulation analysis. Authors: Yaoping Bei, Bingqing Yuan, Qichen Wu, Liang Zhu, and Liang Chen. • A Novel Accelerated Aging Test for Floats in a Floating Photovoltaic System. Authors: Chun-Kuo Liu, Zhong-Ri Kong, Ming-Je Kao, and Teng- Chun Wu. • Overview of Possibilities of Solar Floating Photovoltaic Systems in the OffShore Industry. Authors: Thi Thu Em Vo, Hyeyoung Ko, Junho Huh, and Namje Park. • A floating photovoltaic system for fishery aeration. Authors: E G Pratama, W Sunanda, and R F Gusa. • Floating solar stations. Author: Hesan Ziar. Environmental studies: • Is floating photovoltaic better than conventional photovoltaic? Assessing environmental impacts. Authors: Gardenio Diogo Pimentel Da Silva and David Alves Castelo Branco. • Policy Proposals for Photovoltaic Waste Disposals of a Floating Solar Farm in Sirindhorn Dam, Thailand. Author: Chansatya Meas. • Dealing with uncertainties: floating solar farm in natural lakes. Author: A C Santos-Borja. • Ice Load Characteristics on Floating Photovoltaic Platform. Authors: Tomasz Kolerski, Parisa Radan and Dariusz G asiorowski. • Photovoltaic forecasting model in Thailand: case study solar farm at Nakhon Ratchasima province. Authors: Withaya Yongchareon, Sumlee Thongthew, and Pensiri Juncharoent. • Floating Photovoltaic Plant in India: Current Status and Future Prospect. Author: Debajit Misra. • Solar Panels Life After Death -An Overview on Solar Panel Recycling Methods and Imminent Business Opportunities Authors: Surender Rangaraju, Osama Isaac, Abhijit Ghosh, Phu Le Vo, Shakthi Bharath. • Floating photovoltaic systems: photovoltaic cable submersion and impacts analysis. Authors: Ricardo Rebelo, Luís Fialho, Maria Helena Novais. Economic studies • Potential of floating photovoltaic plant in a tropical reservoir in Brazil. Authors: Italo Sampaio Rodrigues, Geraldo Luis Bezerra Ramalho, Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros. • Study of Economic Viability of Floating Photovoltaic Electric Power in Indonesia. Authors: A A Untoro, T Gunawan, B D Hidayanto, F A Perkasa, and A A Wijaya. Videos & animations • Apollo Power: Flexible floating Photovoltaic panels installation. Apollo is a flexible solar panels manufacturer headquartered in Israel. Website: https://apollo-power.com Address: Creation Street 3 Ramat Gan, 5252141 Israel. Phone: 972-3-517-5273 • Innosea, Ciel & terre, & Solarplaza: The floating solar plant mooring challenge.

Innosea offers engineering technical consultancy and support services in offshore renewable energies. The company is headquartered in France, with a subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Website: www.innosea.fr or http://innosea.co.uk/ Address: 1 rue de la Noe, 44321 Nantes – France Phone: +33 (0) 2 53 35 50 90 Ciel et terre is specialized in floating solar farms mooring systems Website: https://www.ciel-et-terre.net/ Address: 100 avenue Harrison, 59262 Sainghin-en-Mélantois, France. Phone: +33 (0)3 20 01 05 65 Solarplaza International BV is an independent global platform for knowledge, trade and events for the photovoltaic solar energy industry. Website: https://www.solarplazafoundation.org/ Address: Conradstraat 18 (E2-166), 3013 AP, Rotterdam. Phone: +31 (0) 10 280 9198 • Ocean sun: Kyrholmen floating solar project - Installation

.This video and the one in the next point are about Kyrholmen demonstrating a project in Norway that consisted of installing floaters of 50 m diameter to supply fish farms (Customer: Leroy seafood) Ocean sun is a company based in Norway specialized in flexible solar panels. The company is headquartered at Fornebu just outside Oslo Norway. The South East Asia office is located in Singapore, the North East Asia office is located in Shanghai. Website: https://oceansun.no • Ocean sun: Kyrholmen floating solar project - Rough weather

• Romande Energie Holding SA: A floating solar farm in alpine environment

Romande Energie Holding SA is a Switzerland-based holdin company engaged in the production and distribution of electricity. The Company operates through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Website: www.romande-energie.ch. • Sirindhorn dam solar farm project (Video from Reuters)

This project is led by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Sirindhorn Dam Project combines 45 MW of solar energy with the electrical production of the dam. The solar panels selected for this project are crystalline double glass modules installed on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic floating platforms covering 720,000 square meters. Website: https://www.egat.co.th/en/ • Solarvest: The photovoltaic system 12995 Mwp floating solar farm Dengkil Selangor.

Solarvest is a solar panel manufacturer headquartered in south Africa Address: Unit 11, Acacia Park, 1 Falcon Road, Shakashead, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Phone: +27 78 778 1803 Email: Travis@Solarvest.net Website: https://www.solarvest.net • Sungrow: Floating solar installation.

Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. (“Sungrow”) is a producer of photovoltaic solutions and energy storage systems as well as floating PV plant solutions. The company is headquartered 575 Market Street, San Francisco, USA. Website: https://us.sungrowpower.com Media contact: naveed.hasan@sungrowamericas.com

About floating and offshore solar farms (May 2022) When I launched the discussions regarding the alternative markets to oil and gas, my intention was not to discuss solar farms, as the information I had was that most plants are installed on buildings, unoccupied ground areas, and lakes where they are protected from harsh weather conditions that may damage their rigid photovoltaic modules. Another information was that most floating facilities are initially thought to be installed and maintained from the surface. However, after reading articles and scientific studies, I realized that a new generation of silicon solar panels mounted on a flexible hydro- elastic floating membrane makes it possible to install such systems offshore. In addition, a lot of documents suggest that the large floating installations recently created require complex mooring systems and numerous floats that will have to be maintained regularly. For example, Anhui CECEP's floating solar plant in China comprises 194,731 floating solar panels and is said to require 1500 anchor lines. The one on Siridhom Dam Lake in Thailand requires a similaramount of floats and anchors. According to the company Ciel & Terre, which specializes in mooring installations, the lines should be checked twice a year. Thus, even though limited to inspections and light maintenance works, a market can be created.

Also, a lot of studies suggest that the advantages of floating photovoltaic systems are that they do not occupy lands that can be kept available for other activities and that the presence of water underneath the panels favors their cooling and thus provides them a better efficiency. Based on these facts, and also considering that the number of lakes, ponds, and other water surfaces available is limited, we can imagine that the installation of flexible solar panels may develop near the shore and offshore, depending on the cost to transfer the electricity to the beach and whether they are installed away from maritime traffic and conflicting activities. It is, for example, not nonsense to imagine solar farms in place of decommissioned petroleum installations.