Despite false claims by organizations paid to promote false claims, clean renewable energy must replace fossil fuels. The only question is when. The inevitable is assured by crucial environmental, social and economic benefits.

According to renewable energy policy think tank REN21, most barriers to moving out of the fossil fuel age are political rather than practical. Unfortunately, governments are beholden to fossil fuel companies and, even more important, the financial institutions that own and finance production of coal, oil, and gas. As REN21 puts it, “patience and faith in politicians, who hesitate and waver, is fading.” 

Floating photovoltaic (FVP) systems can provide large amounts of energy within a short time. Installed on lakes, reservoirs, or ponds,FVP can decrease land-use challenges associated with existing renewable energy sources. FVP is particularly suitable where hydropower infrastructure is in place but at risk from reduced water flows resulting from climate change. Systems mounted on reservoirs can use existing power distribution lines. 

Combining floating solar with hydropower plants is of particular interest. Flexible hydropower output can be used to smooth the variability of the solar generation, while making better use of existing transmission assets

According to a 2023 study published in Nature Sustainability:

Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems on reservoirs are advantageous over traditional ground-mounted solar systems in terms of land conservation, efficiency improvement and water loss reduction…

Considering the proximity of most reservoirs to population centres and the potential to develop dedicated local power systems, we find that 6,256 communities and/or cities in 124 countries, including 154 metropolises, could be self-sufficient with local FPV plants. Also beneficial to FPV worldwide is that the reduced annual evaporation could conserve 106 ± 1 km3 of water… .

Solar or photovoltaic (PV) power is gaining renewable energy market share because it is economical, quick to install in a wide range of environments and is especially appropriate for smart energy networks…

Floating solar farms offer another advantage. Water helps cool the panels, allowing them to be 15% more efficient than terrestrial solar, according to an estimate from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

The O’MEGA1 floating solar power plant in Vaucluse France uses land that had been a material extraction quarry:

A Smithsonian article says the five countries that would generate the most electricity from introducing or expanding use of floating solar panels are the U.S., China, Brazil, India and Canada.

A completely different energy solution is proposed by the European Space Agency, which intends to could collect solar power in space and beam it down to the surface.

Sunlight is on average more than ten times as intense at the top of the atmosphere as it is down at the surface of the Earth. And up at a sufficiently high orbit sunlight would be available on a continuous basis, to capture all the sunlight available, able to be beamed to receiving stations across the planet, wherever it is needed.

The power is then transmitted wirelessly in the form of microwaves to dedicated receiver stations on Earth, called ‘rectennas’, which convert the energy back into electricity and feed it into the local grid.

Because the power is transferred wirelessly it will be possible to transfer it to receiver station where it is required… Space-Based Solar Power, SBSP, is based on existing technological principles and known physics, with no new breakthroughs required. 

Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to the Earth’s surface. The university launched a solar power prototype into orbit in January. It can wirelessly transmit power from space to Earth.you