Since then, bigger plants with capacities in the hundreds of megawatts have been built on lakes and hydropower reservoirs in China, and more are planned in Southeast Asia and Brazil.Almeida explained that ideally, floating panels are placed in human-made bodies of water, such as irrigation channels and the reservoirs of hydropower plants, not taking up land that could otherwise be used for nature preserves or food production.“But we also need to understand how to reduce unwanted social and ecological repercussions,” he added, explaining that we still know little about the impacts of covering large swaths of water with solar panels.For one thing, extensive panel coverage could block light in the water, Nobre said, altering the feeding and reproduction patterns of algae, which could lead to oxygen depletion in the lake and have cascading effects on the whole ecosystem, harming local fisheries and other wildlife.But the real consequences are unpredictable without studies and will likely vary with different panel designs, area coverage and landscapes, both scientists pointed out."