Nearby water bodies

Nearby water bodies such as lakes, seas or canals keep the air around a PV array humid, and humidity is a key driver of module degradation. Water proximity is one of the site signs that fungal bio-soiling may keep coming back, so expected bio-soiling losses should be built into the site's production-loss assumptions. Modules on floating systems sit in constantly humid air, which can raise leakage current between the frame and the cells. In coastal areas, salt mist speeds up corrosion, and potential induced degradation has been reported to accelerate under salt-mist spraying. When nearby water floods a site, submerged modules can suffer junction box and bypass diode failures with burn marks, and submerged combiner boxes and inverters can fail catastrophically or catch fire. Silt left on canal-top modules after floodwater receded stained the glass permanently and caused hotspots. To reduce exposure, specify IP67 junction boxes with pottant, mount inverters and combiner boxes high off the ground in waterproof enclosures, have a shutdown plan for floods, and include bio-soiling in cleaning schedules.

<!-- review notes

• sentence 1: support check: partial - Passage says humidity is a key stressor and that floating PV on lakes/seas sees high-humidity atmosphere, but doesn't state nearby water bodies like canals generally keep air humid around arrays.
• sentence 2: support check: partial - Passage says to include bio-soiling in production-loss assumptions where water proximity (among other signs) suggests recurrence, but doesn't say water proximity is a sign of fungal recurrence beyond that listing; mostly supported.
• sentence 5: support check: partial - Bypass diode failures with burn marks and catastrophic SCB/inverter failure and fire are stated, but junction box failures were IP65 ones/limited, and IP67 boxes largely held up; framing is broadly overstated.
• sentence 7: support check: partial - IP67 junction boxes with pottant, high clearance, waterproof containers, shutdown protocols and bio-soiling in cleaning schedules are each stated, but the IP67 enclosure is for inverters/combiner boxes and 'mount high' and combined recommendation are stitched across contexts. -->