Floating solar, or floating photovoltaic (FPV), places solar modules on inland water bodies rather than on land. The available figures span global capacity series, individual projects, pilot studies, modeled economics and technical potential, so dates, units and definitions matter when comparing them.
Key Floating Solar Statistics
The following highlights cover the most useful figures across capacity, performance, economics and potential:
- Global floating-PV capacity reached 7,700 GW in 2023 in the IEA PVPS historical series.
- Global floating-solar capacity was estimated at 1.1 GW in September 2018 by the World Bank.
- The World Bank estimated at least 400 GW of global floating-solar technical potential in 2018 under conservative assumptions.
- Ramagundam reached 100 MW of operational floating-solar capacity on July 1, 2022 in Telangana, India.
- Singapore’s Tengeh Reservoir floating farm has 60 MWp of capacity and has operated since July 2021.
- Tengeh Reservoir supplied an energy equivalent for 16,000 four-room HDB flats in the Singapore government’s 2026 report.
- Tengeh Reservoir produced 7% to 10% more solar energy than a similar-capacity land system in the reported comparison.
- A semi-arid irrigation-pond pilot found floating PV output exceeded land-mounted output in 55% of matched observations during the study period.
- Average daily evaporation was 1.84 mm/day in the pilot’s uncovered control pond during the study period.
- Average daily evaporation was 0.76 mm/day in the pilot’s PV-covered pond during the same study period.
- The pilot reported a 59% reduction in evaporation for the PV-covered pond relative to the control pond.
- IEA PVPS reported median floating-PV CAPEX of $1.18/W in 2022 for the reviewed market sample.
- The World Bank’s example floating-solar case showed an LCOE of 7.11 US cents/kWh in its modeled sensitivity section.
- The World Bank tested a 15% CAPEX reduction and a 15% CAPEX increase as favorable and unfavorable LCOE scenarios.
- The World Bank modeled 3% to 4% reservoir coverage as potentially doubling generation capacity at some large hydropower reservoirs.
- At least 10 years of solar-radiation data are usually considered necessary for long-term FPV yield assessment according to IEA PVPS guidance.
Contents
- Global floating solar capacity trends
- Floating solar project scale and national deployment
- Floating solar energy yield and operating performance
- Floating solar costs and electricity economics
- Floating solar water-saving and environmental outcomes
- Floating solar potential and deployment constraints
Global Floating Solar Capacity Trends
The IEA PVPS historical series reports a steep rise in global FPV installed capacity, from 0.0 GW in 2007 to 7,700 GW in 2023. The series values are reproduced as displayed in the IEA PVPS figure, and the source notes that chart units and historical conventions should be checked before treating every point as directly comparable.
| Year | Global FPV installed capacity |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.0 GW |
| 2010 | 1.5 GW |
| 2014 | 11 GW |
| 2017 | 792 GW |
| 2020 | 3,200 GW |
| 2023 | 7,700 GW |
Source: Floating Photovoltaic Power Plants: A Review of Energy Yield, Reliability, and Maintenance. The complete displayed sequence rises through 0.5 GW in 2008, 1.0 GW in 2009, 2.2 GW in 2011, 3.4 GW in 2012, 5.7 GW in 2013, 70 GW in 2015, 210 GW in 2016, 1,615 GW in 2018, 2,239 GW in 2019, 4,272 GW in 2021 and 5,898 GW in 2022.
A separate World Bank market-report estimate put global floating-solar capacity at 10 MW at the end of 2014 and 1.1 GW in September 2018. The World Bank described that comparison as more than 100-fold growth, but its database snapshots and definitions differ from the IEA PVPS series, so the estimates should not be merged into one continuous dataset.
Source: Where Sun Meets Water: Floating Solar Market Report.
Floating Solar Project Scale and National Deployment Data
Project-level statistics show how deployment varies by country, capacity convention and reporting purpose. MW and MWp are retained as supplied because nameplate capacity and system conventions are not interchangeable.
| Project or measure | Capacity or outcome | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|
| Ramagundam final commissioned tranche | 20 MW | July 1, 2022; Telangana, India |
| Ramagundam full operational project | 100 MW | July 1, 2022; Telangana, India |
| Tengeh Reservoir floating farm | 60 MWp | Operational since July 2021; Singapore |
The Government of India reported that the final commissioned tranche at Ramagundam was 20 MW, bringing the project to 100 MW of full operational capacity. These are project-capacity figures, not annual generation totals.
Source: India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned.
Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment reported that the Tengeh Reservoir system has 60 MWp and has operated since July 2021. The government also reported an energy equivalence of 16,000 four-room HDB flats, an estimate based on energy output and household-demand assumptions.
Source: Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Floating Solar Systems.
Floating Solar Energy Yield and Operating Performance Statistics
Operating performance depends on weather, water conditions, design and the comparison baseline. A peer-reviewed semi-arid irrigation-pond pilot therefore provides a site-specific result rather than a global fleet average.
In the pilot, floating PV output exceeded land-mounted PV output in 55% of matched observations under the same conditions. The panels were installed at a 27-degree angle to the water surface, a design parameter for that study rather than a universal optimum.
The pilot also reported no statistically significant top-to-bottom water-temperature difference at the 5% confidence level in the PV-covered pond. The uncovered control pond did show a statistically significant top-to-bottom temperature difference at that same confidence level; both findings apply only to the pilot’s depth measurements and sampling period.
Source: Floating PV; an assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions.
Singapore’s government reported that Tengeh Reservoir produced 7% to 10% more solar energy than a land-based system of similar capacity. The reported comparison does not detail operating conditions or comparison design, so it should be read as a government-reported range rather than a universal FPV premium.
Source: Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Floating Solar Systems.
Floating Solar Costs and Electricity Economics
Cost statistics in the available evidence mix market estimates with modeled scenarios. The IEA PVPS review reported a median floating-PV CAPEX of $1.18/W in 2022, with comparability governed by the reviewed market sample and scope.
| Economic measure | Figure | Type and period |
|---|---|---|
| Median floating-PV CAPEX | $1.18/W | Market estimate, 2022 |
| Example LCOE | 7.11 US cents/kWh | World Bank modeled case |
| Favorable CAPEX sensitivity | 15% reduction | World Bank scenario |
| Unfavorable CAPEX sensitivity | 15% increase | World Bank scenario |
| Favorable performance ratio | 88% | World Bank scenario |
| WACC sensitivity | 2 percentage points | World Bank scenario |
The World Bank sensitivity case tested a 15% CAPEX reduction and a 15% CAPEX increase, alongside an 88% performance ratio in its favorable LCOE case and a 2-percentage-point WACC change. Its example case showed 7.11 US cents/kWh, but this is an illustrative modeled result, not a global average or observed market price.
Source: Where Sun Meets Water: Floating Solar Market Report.
Floating Solar Water-Saving and Environmental Outcome Statistics
Water-cover effects are among the most directly measured outcomes in the pilot evidence, but they vary with season, ambient weather, pond geometry and coverage design. In the semi-arid pilot, average daily evaporation measured 1.84 mm/day in the uncovered control pond and 0.76 mm/day in the PV-covered pond.
That corresponds to a reported 59% reduction in evaporation for the covered pond. The difference between the reported averages was 1.08 mm/day, and the control pond’s average evaporation was about 2.42 times the PV-covered pond’s average; both comparisons are derived from the study’s site-specific averages.
The pilot’s histogram placed about 80% of reported evaporation-increase observations between 100% and 300% for the exposed control relative to the PV-covered pond. This is a distribution from the pilot histogram, not a general field estimate.
A prior laboratory result cited within the pilot study reported an 80% evaporation reduction using flat coverage. That laboratory setup is not equivalent to field deployment and should not be treated as a universal floating-solar result.
Source: Floating PV; an assessment of water quality and evaporation reduction in semi-arid regions.
Floating Solar Potential, Forecasts and Deployment Constraints
The World Bank estimated at least 400 GW of global floating-solar technical potential under conservative assumptions in its 2018 report. Technical potential is modeled potential, not the same as permitted, financeable, deployable or economically viable capacity.
The same report estimated that covering 3% to 4% of some large hydropower reservoirs with floating solar could double a dam’s electricity-generation capacity. The estimate applies to selected large hydropower plants and is not a universal reservoir rule.
Long-term yield assessment also requires appropriately long historical inputs. The IEA PVPS review says that at least 10 years of solar-radiation data are usually considered necessary for long-term FPV yield assessment; this is modeling guidance rather than an installed-capacity statistic.
The IEA PVPS review identifies a commercial technology milestone and supplier shares within defined boundaries. Ciel & Terre installed its first commercial floating-PV plant at 500 kW in 2012, while ZIM Float held 3.6% and Scotra 3.4% of the floating-PV technology market by installed capacity at the end of 2022.
These supplier percentages are estimates from the review’s cited market-share dataset, not shares of all solar generation or all renewable capacity. The World Bank, IEA PVPS, government releases and the peer-reviewed pilot use different dates, databases, system boundaries and capacity conventions, so each statistic should be read within its stated scope.
Sources: Where Sun Meets Water: Floating Solar Market Report and Floating Photovoltaic Power Plants: A Review of Energy Yield, Reliability, and Maintenance.