Sixteen European partners have launched an industrial project to bring offshore photovoltaic technology to standard formats of 150 MW, creating a new fee for power plants at sea
Bamboo will expand offshore photovoltaic
(sustainabilityenvironment.com) – Fully integrated GW scale Offshore solar parks in offshore wind farms to optimize the use of the marine environment and improve energy production. This represents for many the new frontier of photovoltaics. A challenging goal, given the toughest environmental conditions, but full of opportunities. Defining the approach behind this vision will be the decisive element for future success and today a consortium of 16 companies is trying to define the first international standards and evaluation methodologies for photovoltaics at sea on a large scale.
Let’s talk about the partners of BAMBOO (acronym of Build scAlable Modular Bamboo-inspired Offshore sOlar Systems), a European industrial project coordinated by RINA. The initiative involves the designer Oceans of Energy, four technology developers (Solarge, TKF, Pauwels Transformers, SolarCleano), five technical-environmental consulting companies (RINA, ABS, Aquatera Ltd, Aquatera Atlantico and WavEC), three test laboratories (MARIN, Fraunhofer CSP, SIRRIS), the European Marine Board and Vattenfall think tank on marine science policy as potential customers for implementation. Together they will work to assess and solve problems related to the introduction of Offshore solar panels panels in offshore wind farms, both old and new. Not a few units but an expanse of modules for overall power in the order of gigawatts.
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Towards large-scale floating solar parks
The goal is to bring offshore photovoltaic technology to standard formats of 150 MW, improving the strength and performance of the panels compared to the marine environment. Not only. Partners will study the environmental impact of future Offshore solar parks while ensuring sustainability across the entire segment value chain. The project will also contribute to the development of international standards and dedicated test methodologies using the rich instrumentation of the partners. From hydrodynamic assessments at MARIN to the SIRRIS climate chamber, to Fraunhofer’s valuable test tools.
“This project will contribute to enable feasible business cases of solar renewable energy offshore”, states Andrea Bombardi, Carbon Reduction Excellence Executive Vice President of RINA. “RINA, thanks to the leading experience in the provision of energy yield assessment services for solar plants and in floating offshore systems, will pioneer the development of a new predictive yield model applicable to this emerging technology. We will bring to the project our competence in ground-native solutions offshore, in static and dynamic analysis on dynamic export cables, in comparative analysis between different power export layouts, in the definition of recycling strategies for PVs and electrical components at the end of their life and in the coordination of EU-funded projects.”
The expected result? BAMBOO aims to mature the industry’s technologies and attract funds for the first 100-200 MW Offshore solar park at a Vattenfall wind farm before the end of the decade.
