The Offshore Solar Platform (POS) has been officially launched in the Netherlands, together with Dutch independent research organisation TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research).
The platform positions itself as a discussion partner for the Dutch government, grid operator TenneT, and other sectors and stakeholders active in the North Sea. According to TNO, POS consists of a core group of Dutch companies with an ambition to push forward offshore solar power development and rollout.
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POS chairman Wiep Folkerts said, “As members of POS, we would like to cooperate on innovation, for example, when it comes to ecological aspects and integration with offshore wind and hydrogen production.”
The partners also stated the importance of good industry cooperation with the government. In a statement, TNO said that a good legal framework and regulations regarding integration into the energy system could accelerate the development of offshore solar for the Netherlands.
Moreover, TNO believed that offshore solar offers “wonderful export opportunities for Dutch technology”, with a target of 3GWp by 2030 deemed easily achievable.
In a statement, TNO added, “If we want to generate green energy on a large scale, we’ll have to be smart in using the scarce space available in the Netherlands. Within 10 years, TNO will make it possible to use any surface to generate sustainable energy, with due regard for the landscape and the natural world.”
Moving forward, TNO is developing innovations such as floating solar farms and power-generating buildings and infrastructure with partners.
According to TNO, floating solar will make a significant contribution to the energy transition. For example, 200GWp of solar power is expected to be generated in the Netherlands in 2050, 25GWp of which will be on inland waters and 45 at sea.