Belgium-based partners Tractebel, DEME and Jan De Nul recently unveiled their patent-pending SEAVOLT offshore floating PV technology.
This technology is the result of joint research and development by the partners and Ghent University within the VLAIO-funded research project MPVAQUA (Marine PV Aquaculture) (Belgium’s Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the Flemish Government) within the framework of Blue cluster.
SEAVOLT arises from the increasing scarcity of land for solar deployment, combined with the desire for local production without long-distance transmission and the need to rapidly accelerate the energy transition.
The complementarity between wind and solar technology has been confirmed worldwide in recent years. This is leading to more authorities allowing multi-use concessions and driving comprehensive assessments of technical and environmental site data at many potential offshore wind sites. The network infrastructure now also shows good potential for combined use.
“Just as we have seen wind technology shift from land to sea, we are seeing the entire energy system expand to offshore locations,” said Philippe Van Troeye, CEO of Tractebel.
“Besides offshore green fuel production, offshore energy islands and interconnectors, and potential energy storage solutions, we believe floating offshore photovoltaics has an important role to play in accelerating the energy transition.”
SEAVOLT floating PV technology can withstand harsh offshore conditions while creating large surfaces protected from the waves. It uses a modular design that easily adapts to different sites and project needs. Overall, it enables local power generation and the ability to install panels on offshore wind farms, adding large amounts of renewable energy in a relatively short period of time.
A sea floater concept has already been developed together with initial studies on the effects on the marine ecosystem, the integration of aquaculture and a financial assessment. Following laboratory tests, the partners are developing an offshore test installation that will be launched off the Belgian coast this summer. In addition, parallel studies are being conducted with a focus on ecosystems, the environment and profitability.