China’s government-owned utility State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) launched the world’s first commercial offshore floating solar partnered with an offshore wind turbine.
According to Electrek, SPIC is one of China’s five major electrical utility companies and the largest photovoltaic (PV) power generation enterprise. The pilot is placed off the coast of Haiyang, eastern China.
Ocean Sun’s floating solar power technology
The project employs Norway-based Ocean Sun’s patented floating solar power technology.
The two solar floaters have a capacity of 0.5 megawatts peak. They are connected to a transformer on a SPIC-owned wind turbine. In addition, a subsea cable is running from the wind turbine to the power grid.
If the pilot is successful, the plan will be to create a 20 MW floating wind-solar farm next year using Ocean Sun’s technology.
In July, Ocean Sun signed an agreement to license proprietary floating solar technology for the project. This project is entirely funded by SPIC, and Ocean Sun’s “truly offshore installation.“
“Shandong Province is projecting 42GW of floating solar installations in the next few years, and Ocean Sun will now be a contender for some of this volume. These waters see challenging annual typhoons, and all involved parties are aware of the risks. Ocean Sun will improve our product with learnings from this exposed site.” said Børge Bjørneklett, CEO and founder of Ocean Sun.
A wind-solar hybrid system potentially offers improving power output reliability advantages. Solar peaks during the day, whereas offshore wind turbines usually produce most of their power in the afternoon and the evening.
India’s wind-solar hybrid project
For comparison, India is not a stranger to hybrid projects. According to Saur Energy, a leading energy firm, Adani Green set up the world’s largest wind-solar hybrid project in Rajasthan, India. It boasts 600 MW solar and wind capacity stands at 150 MW in October 2022.
