Making progress

Although providing the largest part of renewable o shore energy, wind is not the only source of power at sea. Marine energy, as well as solar power, are innovative additions to the supply of green energy generated from wind.

Research shows that o shore floating solar (OSF) power has a lot of potential. According to international research agency DNV, it will reach a size of 20,000GW in the future. This is because within the sunbelt – the part of our planet that is sun rich, but wind scarce – solar is by far the cheapest method to produce renewable energy, and land is hard to come by. And in March, showing the Dutch governments support for o shore solar energy, Rob Jetten, Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, presented the final report of the Interdepartmental

Policy Research (IBO) Climate to the Dutch Parliament, proposing a 3GW target for hybrid o shore floating solar capacity by 2030.

Currently, there are several o shore solar projects running, although most of them are still in an experimental phase trying to deal with the many challenges caused by the harsh circumstance at sea.

Some projects, however, already have outgrown the experiments, such as of Dutch company SolarDuck. In 2021, SolarDuck showed their floating o shore solar power concept to the market and since that moment things went very fast. Last year, SolarDuck was awarded construction of the world´s largest hybrid o shore floating solar power plant to date (5MW) at Hollandse Kust West VII o shore wind farm (Netherlands). This was announced soon after the winning bid of RWE’s subsidiary Oranje Wind Power II.

SolarDuck’s CEO Koen Burgers states on this news, “This is a flagship project for SolarDuck and an important milestone for the wider o shore floating solar industry. SolarDuck, being the first to build a hybrid project at this scale, will demonstrate the robustness of our solution, prove the important role of system integration in building future-fit energy systems and enable the scaling of the technology to accelerate its adoption. We are proud to work together with our partner RWE, in this important project.”

In November of last year, SolarDuck and consortium partners Delft University of Technology, Deltares, MARIN, and TNO, have been awarded a USD 8.4 million subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to build and test the o shore floating solar platform Merganser. The Merganser is a prototype installation capable of generating 500kWp of renewable energy at sea.

This new and scalable concept includes six interconnected platforms that can withstand extreme o shore conditions. The consortium will use the subsidy to get Merganser built, waterborne, and tested o shore in the North Sea. When the project delivers the expected results, it can easily be upgraded to gigawatt scale, making it ideal for coastal (mega) cities’ energy needs. SolarDuck will take on project management, develop the final technical specifications of Merganser, and provide technical support for the partnering knowledge institutes. In addition, the consortium will develop the requirements for a commercial-sized project of at least 5MWp. To that end, containerisation and pop-up assembly concepts will be designed to arrange for e cient transport and local construction of future Merganser units. The partner institutes will cover a large research scope, including for example corrosion resistance of the solar and electrical systems, UV degradation of the synthetic anchors and marine growth on the floaters. From monitoring cost of virtually all Merganser aspects (including decommissioning) to investigating possible electrical integration of o shore solar and wind energy and from building fatigue prediction models to flexible mooring line concepts in shallow water, virtually everything is covered in this pilot. The group will even do research into the social acceptance of OFS technology among stakeholders and if Merganser can bring positive contributions to marine biodiversity and

‘new’ habitats. Don Hoogendoorn, CTO of SolarDuck, states, “We are very proud to have the DEI+ subsidy on board to build a scalable floating solar energy solution. Based on our first, successful pilot in 2021, our technology has already obtained an Approval in Principle from Bureau Veritas. We are proud to collaborate with such renowned knowledge institutions as Deltares, Marin, TNO, and TU Delft. Together, we’ll make this project successful and make sustainable o shore solar energy commercially viable much faster. This fits perfectly with our aim to power the world with clean energy and support the energy transition.”

The e orts of SolarDuck are not only recognised in Europe as early this year, the company and its partners Tokyu Land Corporation and Everblue Technologies announced that their proposal for Japan’s first o shore floating solar power generation and automated sailing boat technology demonstration has been selected as part of the Tokyo Bay eSG Project. This is an advanced project led by the Bureau of Policy Planning of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which wants to create a sustainable city that looks 50 to 100 years into the future and aims to implement cutting-edge technologies in the fields of cutting-edge renewable energy, next-generation mobility, and environmental improvement and resource recycling in the central breakwater area. With their project, the three companies aim to realise local production for local consumption of energy in the Tokyo Bay Area in the future through the practical application of Japan’s first o shore floating photovoltaic power generation system, the use of renewable energy generated on the ocean to power electric-powered boats, and the demonstration of marine transportation of storage batteries.

A second OFS project that is making progress is SeaVolt. As of 2019, the Belgian partners DEME, Jan De Nul, and Tractebel bring together experts in the field of solar PV technology, marine energy, and aquaculture to build o shore solar energy systems. This recently resulted in the introduction of

SeaVolt. SeaVolt’s technology can withstand harsh o shore conditions while creating large surfaces that are protected from the waves. The modular design allows for easy adaptation to di erent sites and demands. Benefits include local renewable energy production and the possibility to install the panels in o shore wind farms (where local authorities permit multi-use concessions). Another advantage is the addition of large volumes of renewable energy capacity in a relatively short time. The partners, together with Ghent University, started the VLAIO-funded (the Flemish government’s Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship) research project MPVAqua (Marine Photovoltaic Aquaculture) within the frame of Blue Cluster four years ago. A marine floater concept was developed together with initial research on e ects on the marine ecosystem, integration of aquaculture, and a financial assessment. Following laboratory testing, the partners are currently developing an o shore test installation which will be launched o the Belgian coast in the summer of 2023.

Furthermore, parallel tracks focusing on the ecosystem, the environment and cost e ectiveness are being launched with the support of the Energy Transition Fund and the Federal Relaunch Fund.

Philippe Van Troeye, Tractebel’s CEO, says, “In the same way that we have seen wind technology moving from land to the sea, we are seeing the extension of the whole energy system towards o shore locations. Along with o shore green fuel production, o shore energy islands, interconnectors, and potential solutions for energy storage, we believe o shore floating PV has an important role to play in the acceleration of the energy transition. While this technology is still in its infancy, we are convinced that with such strong partners on board we are giving SeaVolt all possible chances to succeed.” Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME, adds, “With our focus on working towards a sustainable planet, DEME is again showing its pioneering spirit. By working closely with likeminded partners, we have developed

SeaVolt – a new renewable energy solution which has great potential to accelerate the clean energy transition. We believe combining solar and wind energy o shore provides fantastic opportunities for the future.” Philippe Hutse, O shore Director at Jan De Nul Group, states, “We are thrilled to launch the SeaVolt technology, which represents the culmination of years of hard work and innovation in o shore PV technology together with our partners. SeaVolt is a reliable, coste ective, and environmentally friendly solution that can be deployed in even the harshest o shore conditions. As the o shore wind industry continues to grow, we believe that it has the potential to play a crucial role in optimising the use of space at sea by complementing o shore wind farms. We are excited to see how SeaVolt will shape the future of renewable energy and contribute to a more sustainable future.”

i. seavolt.be

i. solarduck.tech