World’s first offshore wind-solar project moves forward

An offshore solar farm is being deployed close to an existing wind farm as part of a project in the Dutch North Sea. The developers have recently installed an anchoring system that will hold the solar farm in place while an electrical cable connects the array to a nearby wind turbine foundation.

An anchoring system for an offshore solar project has been installed at the site of an existing offshore wind farm.

The installation forms part of an ongoing project that will see a solar farm, supplied by Dutch solar company Oceans of Energy, deployed at The Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm, which is located 22 kilometers into the Dutch North Sea.

The project is being billed as the world’s first offshore solar plus offshore wind project. The anchoring system will hold the solar farm in place while an electrical cable connects the array to a nearby wind turbine foundation.

Oceans of Energy Founder & CEO, Allard van Hoeken, said the anchoring system installation “is a huge milestone, as it marks the first offshore installation works for this groundbreaking project”.

Van Hoeken added that by combining offshore solar with offshore wind, the site will bring a more continuous flow of electricity to land that could increase energy output by up to five times, while using the same sea area.

The existing 759 MW wind farm is operated by Crosswind, a joint venture between Shell and Dutch utility Eneco. More details on the solar power plant were not disclosed.

“The reliability of the anchoring system is critical, not only for the safety and stability of the floating solar park, but also to ensure it operates seamlessly alongside the surrounding wind turbines,” explained Crosswind Offshore Solar Project Manager, Jeroen van Loon.

Last week, Oceans of Energy and Crosswind announced a successful factory acceptance test and delivery of the electrical power cable, supplied by Swedish NK, which will transport the produced energy to the nearby foundation pile.

Oceans of Energy deployed the world’s first offshore solar farm, a 50 kW modular PV system, in the Dutch North Sea in 2019.

A report from DNV GL in December 2020 predicted that the North Sea could host around 100 MW of floating solar capacity by 2030, and 500 MW by 2035.