Solar power |
RWE launches into floating PV, offshore and inland
A major player in offshore wind, RWE also sees considerable promise in floating offshore photovoltaics. And as a first step into floating PV it has recently commissioned an installation on a cooling water lake at its Amer power plant site in the Netherlands
A recent significant development was the signing by RWE and Dutch-Norwegian company SolarDuck of a collaboration agreement on the development and deployment of floating solar parks at sea.
As a first step in the collaboration, RWE is investing in a first offshore pilot in the North Sea. The aim of the pilot is to accelerate the learning curve for SolarDuck’s floating solar technology, and lay the foundation for a larger demonstration project, at the Dutch offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust West (HKW), also in the North Sea, about 53 km from the Dutch west coast. RWE is tendering for this project, and has included SolarDuck in its bid, with a highly innovative combination of offshore floating solar with integrated storage technology.
New frontier for solar power? The offshore floating PV (OFPV) technology being developed by SolarDuck is said to establish “a new frontier for solar energy” and provides a way to address the problem of increasing scarcity of land for the generation of renewable electricity. The integration of offshore floating solar into an offshore wind farm is seen as an efficient use of ocean space for power generation (using the space between the wind turbines) and
promises synergies in terms of construction and maintenance of a multi-energy-source renewable power plant. The result is “a more balanced production profile due to the complementary nature of wind and solar resources”’ say RWE and SolarDuck.
Taking solar farms offshore requires a technology that is able to withstand rough offshore conditions, including high waves, strong winds and a corrosive environment. SolarDuck’s unique, triangular-shaped platform – which offshore floating solar, by Bureau Veritas – is designed to float several meters above the water, “following the waves like a carpet”, thus “keeping critical electrical components dry, clean and stable, as well as securing the integrity of the semi-submersible structure while enabling safe operations and minimal maintenance.” SolarDuck’s full-scale offshore pilot, which RWE is investing in, is called Merganser, with a nameplate capacity of 0.5 MWp. It is expected to be installed off the coast of Ostend in the Belgian North Sea in 2023 and will be SolarDuck’s first offshore pilot following the successful deployment of an inland pilot in the Netherlands last year. Merganser will provide RWE and SolarDuck with “first-hand experience in one of the most
20 | September 2022|
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challenging offshore environments in the world” and these “learnings will enable a faster commercialisation of the technology from 2023 onwards.”
RWE has submitted bids for both HKW site VI and HKW site VII, with a combined capacity of over 1.4 GW, to contribute to the Dutch government’s ambitious build out target of 21 GW for offshore wind by around 2030. The SolarDuck demo is included in the bid for HKW site VII, which also envisages 600 MW of electrolyser capacity with access to storage capacity in the planned onshore hydrogen backbone.
RWE’s HKW site VII proposal envisages integration of a SolarDuck floating PV plant at pre-commercial scale, 5 MWp.
The tenders for both HKW VI and VII opened on 14 April 2022 and closed on 12 May 2022. The winners are due to be announced after the summer (2022).
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO, offshore wind, RWE Renewables said : “We are very keen to further explore the potential of offshore floating solar together with our partner SolarDuck. For countries with lower mean wind speeds but high solar irradiation, this opens up attractive opportunities.”
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