Singapore built a floating solar farm in the sea, but thousands of barnacles turned it into an engineering challenge that could sink its 13,000 solar panels

Image Credit: Singapore International Water Weak Singapore is an island nation with very little land, which creates difficulty for it to achieve the goal of massive solar farms. With a total area of less than 280 square miles, every inch of land faces the tough choice between housing, industry, and greenery. To meet its ambitious ‘Green Plan 2030’ goals, the government shifted towards the surrounding blue sea.According to Energies Media, an engineering success was achieved by the ‘Sunseap Group’ in the Strait of Johor where 13,312 solar panels were set upon a vast network of 30,000 floating pontoons. This 5-megawatt floating solar farm was designed to power over 1,200 homes. Later, engineers discovered that they were not the only ones interested in this area. Beneath the pontoons, thousands of barnacles and mussels attached themselves like unwanted passengers, creating a massive challenge for generating clean energy at sea.Why is Singapore using the seas for generating solar powerAs reported by Energies Media, land scarcity is one of the biggest challenges for the global transition to renewable energy, and in Singapore, this creates a unique hurdle. With virtually no open land left...