Interactive Map: The world’s most remarkable solar farms

As the demand for clean renewable energy increases, so does the need for solar farms. However, limited space for such projects has forced planners and developers to come up with inventive ways of integrating them into the natural landscape without angering scenery admirers and countryside ramblers.

Sceptics have long been critical of the use of solar energy because of both its cost of production and its obvious dependence on the daylight. But the ever dwindling availability of non-renewable resources has meant that it has become mandatory for the human race to rethink the ways in which it obtains energy.

Recently the solar energy sector has seen the start of a number of new projects including a giant solar farm being supported by Google in California’s Kern County, an announcement by Japanese manufacturer Kyocera that it is starting work on the world’s largest floating solar farm and the commissioning of UK company Solarcentury to build Africa’s largest solar carport.

Navigate your way around our interactive map to see how much renewable energy these solar installations, and others, are producing for the local environment.

Interactive Map

Farms listed in this map include: –

Asia

Solar farm near Sambhar Lake

Location: Rajasthan, India
Status: plans announced
Size: 20,000 acres
Capacity/power output: 4,000MW

Kyocera floating solar farms

Location: Nishira and Higashihira reservoirs, Japan
Status: under construction
Capacity/power output: 2.9MW

North America

Regulus, abandoned oil and gas field

Location: California, USA
Status: under construction
Size: 737 acres
Capacity/power output: 82MW

Sarnia Photovoltaic solar farm

Location: Ontario, Canada
Status: completed in 2010
Size: 950 acres
Capacity/power output: 80MW

South America

Eletrosul solar farm

Location: Santa Catalina, Brazil
Status: completed
Capacity/power output: 1.2GWh per annum

Atacama Desert

Location: Chile
Status: development stage
Capacity/power output: 50MW

Africa

Solarcentury solar carport

Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Status: approved
Size: 3300 solar panels
Capacity/power output: 1256MWh per annum

Jasper PV project

Location: Kimberley, South Africa
Status: under construction
Capacity/power output: 182,000MWh per annum

Europe

Deeside Toyota Factory

Location: North Wales, UK
Status: completed summer2014
Size: 15 acres approximately
Capacity/power output: 3,475,000kWh per annum, 10% of power needed by the factory

Lark Energy

Location: WWII airfield in Leicestershire, UK
Status: completed in 2013
Size: 150 acres
Capacity/power output: 34MW

Solar Park Meuro

Location: Meuro and Schipkau, Germany
Status: completed
Size: 150 acres
Capacity/power output: 70MW

Australasia

Royalla Solar Farm

Location: Canberra, Australia
Status: completed
Size: 83,000 solar panels
Capacity/power output: 20MW

Palmerston North

Location: Palmerston North, New Zealand
Status: completed
Capacity/power output: 100kW

Antarctica

Solar installations in Antarctica are few and far between. But a study carried out in 2011 by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science claims that cold places are the best environments for the harvesting of solar power, meaning that solar farms may be more effective in places like Antarctica.

Edie did manage to find one significant solar project in the Antarctic Peninsula, which could be used as a role model for future solar projects across the continent. 

Bransfield House

Location: Rothera, Antarctic Peninsula
Status: completed
Capacity/power output: 15kW

Lois Vallely