Floating solar developer lands first commercial install – at an offshore wind farm

Dutch offshore solar start-up Oceans of Energy has won the contract to install and operate a floating solar system at the 759MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The first turbine at the Hollandse Kust Noord (HKN) offshore project was erected earlier this month, the first of 69 turbines which will eventually generate at least 3.3 TWh per year.

Offshore wind won’t be the only renewable energy tool at play at HKN, with the wind farm designed to support the later addition of floating solar, battery storage, and green hydrogen production.

Less than a fortnight after the first turbine was installed, Oceans of Energy announced that they had been awarded the contract to install and operate a floating offshore solar annex to the 69 offshore wind turbines.

When completed, which is expected for 2025 – two years after the wind farm begins full operations – this will be the first offshore solar farm in the world to be connected, installed, and operated within a wind farm in high wave conditions.

“We are excited to announce that we have signed a contract with Oceans of Energy for the development and deployment of the floating solar project in CrossWind,” said Maria Kalogera, innovations manager of CrossWind, the joint venture between Shell and Eneco developing Hollandse Kust Noord.

“Offshore floating solar is an exciting area of renewable energy development that is poised to play an important role in the energy transition. This project marks a significant milestone for our CrossWind Innovations Team as we continue to push on our commitment to create better energy solutions for the future.”

It is expected that the solar farm will boast total capacity of just 0.5MW.

Solar panels will be situated in between the offshore wind turbines and will ensure greater efficiency for the project as a whole, even on less windy days.

“We are very pleased that Crosswind and their shareholders Shell and Eneco have trust in Oceans of Energy for realizing this first off amazing project,” said Allard van Hoeken, founder and CEO of Oceans of Energy.

“We will add offshore solar to offshore wind. Our performance and our system will be key for the success of the innovational part of the offshore wind farm. This is a large responsibility as Hollandse Kust Noord will function as an example for combined offshore wind and solar parks in the future.”