Exploring the potential of floating solar energy

Solar energy is an important alternative energy source but in a densely populated country like the Netherlands the space for solar parks is very limited. Therefore it is time to turn to the water and for MARIN to assist.
In the last two years several floating, solar concepts have been tested at MARIN’s basin facilities. This is an interesting field to work in, as floating solar is in the pioneering phase and so the concepts are still quite diverse. What makes floating solar different from existing offshore floaters is the small payload and large span of areas. With an average payload of less than 100 kg/m2 for the
panels, wiring and micro-converters, the payload only adds a couple of centimetres to the draught of the floaters. This facilitates lightweight constructions, which are also necessary from a cost perspective.
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