The Nautical SUNRISE consortium partners have launched a floating photovoltaic project to promote the development of offshore floating solar systems and their components. The project aims to integrate a 5 MW offshore floating solar system within RWE's OranjeWind Offshore Wind, which will be built 53 kilometers off the coast of the Netherlands.
Project Overview
Project name: OranjeWind Offshore Wind Farm
Location: 53 kilometers off the coast of the Netherlands
Installed capacity: 800 MW
Constructor: Rheinland Group (RWE)
Research and development of offshore floating solar (OFS) systems and their components for the €8.4 million project started in December 2023, supported by the €6.8 million Horizon Europe program.
The project will enable offshore floating solar systems to be deployed and commercialized at scale in the future, either as stand-alone systems or integrated into offshore wind farms.
The project aims to design, build, and demonstrate a 5 MW offshore floating solar system using modular solutions from the Dutch floating company SolarDuck.
RWE is investing in the installation and deployment of the system, which is planned to be electrically integrated, certified, and located within RWE's 800MW OranjeWind offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.
The project will assess the environmental footprint, recyclability, and full life cycle sustainability of the offshore floating solar system.
According to one of the consortium partners, the Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC), the assessment will cover not only demonstration projects but also multiple GW-scale commercial projects to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the ecological impact of the technology.
Other Ocean Sunrise consortium partners include SolarDuck, RWE, Blunova (a Carlo Maresca Group company), Bridon Bekaert The Ropes Group, Deltares, Hasselt University (UHasselt), KU Leuven, Oxford PV, SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Ocean, Institut de Recherche Energétique de Catalunya (IREC-CERCA), INESC TEC and WavEC Offshore Renewables.
In November 2022, RWE secured the development and construction of the OranjeWind project off the coast of the Netherlands by winning the tender for the construction and operation of an unsubsidized offshore wind farm at the Hollandse Kust West (HKW) VII site in the Netherlands.
The OranjeWind offshore wind farm is expected to start producing renewable electricity in 2027. The project will include floating solar panels, subsea lithium-ion batteries, and a LiDAR system to more accurately predict power generation.