off-shore floating solar

Germany’s RWE is partnering with offshore PV specialist SolarDuck to build a 0.5 MW floating solar plant near an offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

Developed by scientists in Malta, the tool is said to predict yield gains or losses that waves can determine in offshore PV installations. The research group identified three movements an offshore array can be subject to, and for each of them provided specific measurements.

Oceans of Energy is planning to deploy a 3 MW off-shore floating PV array in the North Sea.

Dutch start-up SolarDuck has secured approval-in-principle for its floating offshore platforms. Its 64 kW pilot project on the inshore water of the Netherlands’ widest river was validated by Bureau Veritas.

Dutch floating structure specialist Solarduck has built a pilot 65 kW floating PV array that will be connected to a 10 kW electrolyzer to produce hydrogen bonded with a liquid organic hydrogen carrier. The system is relying on the company’s proprietary floating technology that resembles an offshore oil platform.

Dutch startup SolarDuck has developed a triangular structure for floating PV that resembles an offshore oil platform. CEO Koen Burgers told pv magazine that it keeps panels more than 3 meters above the water surface, and claimed that the structure can handle waves and dynamic loads. It will be used in a Dutch pilot project from April.

The two companies want to test a floating PV array under harsh weather conditions in rough waters for at least a year. The system will be based on a floating solar technology developed by Maritime Moss, a unit of Saipem.

According to a report from DNV GL, the North Sea may host around 100 MW of floating solar capacity by 2030, and 500 MW by 2035. The LCOE of offshore PV systems is currently estimated at around €354/MWh but in the future it should be close to that of ground-mounted solar parks.