Building on the successes of floating PV projects installed on lakes and dams globally, offshore installations are an emerging opportunity for developers, potentially when co-located with wind farms. George Heynes explores how the industry can move beyond pilot projects to large-scale, commercially viable installations, detailing the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The China Energy Engineering Corporation has reportedly proposed to build a 1GW floating solar installation in Zimbabwe, at the Kariba Dam on the Zambizi river.
Tractebel – a subsidiary of French utility Engie – has developed a new offshore floating solar technology in partnership with offshore energy specialists DEME and maritime infrastructure firm Jan De Nul.
Floating PV (FPV) developer Sungrow FPV will supply floating systems to a 192MW project in Indonesia, which it has said will be the largest floating installation in the country.
As the floating solar sector becomes more mature, larger projects are being deployed in a range of water bodies, presenting a host of construction challenges. Jonathan Tourino Jacobo talks to project developers about how the latest technology is driving growth.
