It sounds like an environmentalist’s dream: a renewable energy source that could generate 10% of the U.S.’s electricity output — and it doesn’t require land. But dig deeper into the climatic and ecological impacts of “floating solar” technology and you’ll find that while it’s still an attractive option, it may not be quite as enticing as it sounds. The problem, explains researcher Nicholas Ray, is that when the floating solar arrays are installed on small bodies of water, they...
