Japan has no more readily available land for solar – that’s one argument often used by industry skeptics. Whatever your stance, there’s an alternative space where solar power can be installed, and in Japan it’s available in abundance.

The nation has tens of thousands of man-made reservoirs, only a fraction of which are currently utilized. In a country that lacks vast, flat, open space, installing panels on such bodies of water solves both energy issues and contributes to better water management.

What’s more, Japan was the pioneer of floating solar technology. Since those initial strides, the domestic progress for the technology has somewhat stalled. However, with government officials desperately looking for more spaces to install solar panels to meet national carbon neutrality pledges, reservoirs and other untapped locations are starting to gain attention.

The first floating solar project
The world’s first floating solar was built in Japan in 2007, a 20 kW project in Aichi prefecture …