D3Energy has launched construction on a 6 megawatt (MW) floating solar system for the Village of Monroeville, which is set to become the largest floating solar installation in Ohio, and one of the largest in the country.
The system is expected to go live in early 2026, D3Energy said. Once complete, the array will generate over 7,500 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually.
Spearheaded by the Village and developed in partnership with D3Energy, the system will feed into Monroeville’s local distribution grid, delivering energy to homes and businesses throughout the community. Under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the Village will purchase electricity from Gardner Capital, the project’s owner.
“We’ve been fortunate to partner with Monroeville on this project from the early stages, and their vision and persistence have been key to getting us here,” said Stetson Tchividjian, Managing Director of D3Energy. “Monroeville has long been a leader in the energy space, and with this project, they’ll be utilizing more green energy than many larger counties and cities across the country. They’re setting a bold example of how a rural community can make a meaningful impact in advancing clean energy.”
By utilizing the Village’s existing reservoir, the project preserves over 30 acres of land that would otherwise have been required for a traditional ground-mounted system.
D3Energy has assembled the same team that delivered the Del-Co Water floating solar project in 2023, again partnering with Gardner Capital and local contractor ARP Solar to support the Monroeville installation.
Floating solar begins to catch on in the States
Although the concept is just starting to become popular in the US, floating solar has been common in Asia for years.
The concept of floating solar is simple: attach panels onto rafts so they float on water instead of blocking off land that could be used for agriculture or buildings. The panels are sealed and act as a lid that brings evaporation down to nearly zero, a perk from which drought-stricken regions like California benefit. The water also keeps the panels cool, allowing them to generate more electricity than their land-mounted counterparts, which lose efficiency when they get too hot.
But high upfront costs remain a barrier. Bartle estimates floating solar costs 10-15% more than land solar initially, but owners save money in the long run. Deeper water can increase installation costs, and the technology can’t operate on fast-moving water, on the open ocean, or shorelines with large waves.
The world’s largest array so far is the 320 MW Dezhou Dingzhuang Floating Solar Farm in Shandong, China. North America’s largest, by comparison, is a fraction of that — 8.9 MW at the Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant in Millburn, N.J., owned by New Jersey Resources Clean Energy Ventures, which operates utility-scale commercial as well as residential solar systems across the Northeast.
