World's Largest Offshore Floating Solar Power Plant

  Construction of World's Largest Offshore Floating Solar Power Plant

Offshore floating solar projects can help overcome limitations of land while tapping into maximum sunlight in sun rich regions. Alongside wind turbines, floating solar panels installed offshore can help increase renewable energy output. Work for the five-megawatt (MW) offshore floating solar (OFS) power plant, the world’s largest so far, has begun and will include design, construction, and showcasing the facility using a modular solution, a press release said. Solar Duck, a Netherlands-based company, is providing the plant’s technology. The ground breaking start signals a monumental advancement in renewable energy efforts. The Nautical SUNRISE project is set to support the world's largest Offshore Floating Solar power installation. The € 8.4 million project, supported with € 6.8 million of the Horizon Europe programme, kicked off in December 2023 to execute research and development on offshore floating solar (OFS) systems and its components. Construction has commenced on what will soon become the world's largest offshore floating solar (OFS) power plant, boasting an impressive capacity of five megawatts (MW). 

With countries looking to phase out fossil fuels, solar and wind-based energy solutions are being rapidly installed. While dropping power costs from these technologies is a welcome sign, their lower energy conversion rates are problematic. Both wind and solar energy plants need large tracts of land to harness large amounts of power to effect a transition. This innovative project, which involves design, construction, and demonstration phases, is being undertaken using a modular solution. Spearheading this ground breaking initiative is Solar Duck, a company based in the Netherlands, known for its cutting-edge technology in the renewable energy sector.

Solar Duck has initiated an ambitious 8.4 million euro endeavour to construct the world's largest offshore floating solar project. This initiative will be seamlessly integrated, certified, and situated within the OranjeWind wind farm project, located off the western coast of the Netherlands. Prior to commencing construction, the Nautical SUNRISE consortium will undertake comprehensive research across various facets of the project. New offshore floating solar tech can withstand harsh marine conditions. Japan’s floating solar farm will store energy and drones will ship it back to shore. Landmass on the planet is limited and is already utilized for various purposes, from housing and agriculture to setting up industries. Realizing this, wind farms have already transitioned to offshore platforms where they can build bigger turbines and tap into higher-speed winds to generate greater amounts of clean energy. It is high time for solar farms to move offshore, too. This entails ensuring the offshore floating project's reliability, survivability, electrical stability, and yield. Based on the consortium's findings, a meticulous scale-up strategy will be devised to tackle emerging challenges and facilitate the project's commercialization.

Moreover, the consortium will undertake a thorough sustainability assessment, evaluating factors such as environmental impact, full life cycle, and circularity of the OFS systems. This assessment will extend beyond the demonstrator project to encompass potential gigawatt-scale projects in the future. Don Hoogendoorn, SolarDuck's Chief Technology Officer, expressed enthusiasm about the project, emphasizing its role in pushing the environmental boundaries of design while gaining valuable insights into ecological and reliability aspects.

Solar/Wind Energy Solutions

Amid global efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, there has been a noticeable surge in the adoption of solar and wind energy solutions.  While the declining costs associated with these renewable technologies are certainly encouraging, there are concerns regarding their relatively lower energy conversion rates.  With land resources on Earth already allocated for diverse purposes such as housing, agriculture, and industrial development, Interesting Engineering reported tat the potential for land-based solar farms is becoming increasingly limited. Just like land, inland water bodies too are crowded and limited. Covering canals with solar panels may be a good idea in water-scarce regions. But all the world’s rivers and lakes occupy just 0.2 % of the planet. Moreover, rivers are already used for inland transportation, and installing solar panels can interfere with existing systems. Furthermore, both wind and solar energy installations typically require extensive land areas to harness significant power output effectively, highlighting the need for innovative solutions like offshore floating solar projects. 

In contrast, 71 % of the planet’s surface area is covered with water, which presents an opportunity to build an energy-harvesting apparatus using abundant sunlight. Netherlands-based SolarDuck is keen to install offshore solar farms in areas it refers to as the Sun Belt. These areas of the world, such as the Caribbean, Japan, South Korea and even Oman, are sun-rich but wind-scarce. With limited landmass, extensive energy infrastructure becomes too expensive in these areas. Still, the nearby waters are ideal for offshore solar. This can help countries reduce their dependence on diesel or natural gas and reduce carbon emissions.

In response to this challenge, the wind energy sector has made significant strides by transitioning to offshore platforms, where larger turbines can harness higher-speed winds to produce greater amounts of clean energy. Given the success of offshore wind farms, there is a growing consensus that it is now opportune for solar farms to follow suit and venture into offshore territories. SolarDuck has started the 8.4 million euro project to build the world’s largest offshore floating solar (OFS) project. The project will be integrated, certified and located within the OranjeWind wind farm project off the western coast of the Netherlands. Before construction of the facility begins, a consortium called Nautical SUNRISE will conduct extensive research on various components of the project. This includes ensuring the offshore floating project’s reliability, survivability, electrical stability and yield. Depending on the consortium’s findings, a detailed scale-up plan will be drawn to address the challenges faced and facilitate the commercialization of the project.

More importantly, the consortium will also conduct a sustainability assessment of the project and consider factors like environmental impact, full life cycle and circularity of the OFS systems. This will not be limited to the demonstrator project but also include gigawatt-scale projects that might be taken up in the future. Don Hoogendoorn, the CTO at SolarDuck, said in a press release that the project allows the company “to push the environmental boundary of the design and at the same time get an in-depth understanding of the ecological and reliability of the design.”"