Sustainability trade-offs across modeled floating solar waterscapes of the Northeastern United States
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Abstract
Expansion of floating photovoltaic (FPV) solar systems provides a low-conflict renewable energy option to help mitigate climate change while sparing land, but potential sustainability trade-offs remain unquantified. We compare the technical potential of maximum FPV deployment to address the climate crisis with FPV-buildout scenarios that prioritize biodiversity and social values across waterscapes. FPV deployment on all technically suitable waterbodies (3.5% of available sites) in the Northeastern US could generate nearly a quarter of the region’s solar energy while offsetting all the land required for solar by 2050, but trade-offs, including maintenance of freshwater biodiversity and recreational benefits, exist. Avoidance of socioenvironmental interactions yields FPV-electricity generation potential equal to a 5% increase in regional solar generation while sparing water for biodiversity and social values, though opportunities for co-location make this a conservative estimate. Our framework extends technical potential assessments to holistically inform FPV siting and support diverse Sustainable Development Goals.
Suggested Citation
Gallaher, A., Kalies, E., and Grodsky, S.M., 2025, Sustainability trade-offs across modeled floating solar waterscapes of the Northeastern United States: Cell Reports Sustainability, v. 2, no. 7, 100423, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100423.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Sustainability trade-offs across modeled floating solar waterscapes of the Northeastern United States |
| Series title | Cell Reports Sustainability |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100423 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Publication Date | June 13, 2025 |
| Year Published | 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Leetown |
| Description | 100423, 15 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia |