Floating PV is still promising, but not offshore

September 11, 2019 | Case Study

As floating photovoltaic (PV) systems are becoming increasingly commoditized, a group of research and industry players continue to toy with the idea of bringing the technology offshore. For instance, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has recently issued consulting proposals to study the feasibility of floating PV in the Arabian Gulf, and a Dutch consortium led by ECN unveiled a floating PV pilot in the North Sea early last year. The growing interest in offshore PV has also been captured in Asia-Pacific and has driven the appearance of startups focusing on sea deployments, such as Oceans of Energy and Swimsol. Just recently, marine engineering firm Jan De Nul Group joined this race and announced the formation of a Belgian consortium to develop and construct another floating PV project in the North Sea – raising questions about the technology capabilities.