Science

‘Floating solar’: DNV GL verifies Ocean Sun’s design methodology

Hyderabad | Updated on March 09, 2020 Published on March 09, 2020

The solar solution is for operations in man-made reservoirs, coastal waters

,

Our Bureau

DNV GL has awarded a conformity statement to Norwegian solar energy company Ocean Sun, for its floating solar design methodology.

This is the first such issued following a thorough verification process that sets the standard for the expansion of floating solar globally and opens opportunities to scale up solar energy production around the world.

The conformity statement verifies that the design methodology of the Ocean Sun floating solar structure, including design principles, methods and safety factors, complies with the relevant standards and recommended practices.

The solar solution is built for operations in man-made reservoirs and coastal waters, with a design that combines solutions from open-sea salmon farms and the latest solar technology. The system is based on modified silicon solar modules mounted on a flexible hydro elastic floating membrane.

Enormous potential

DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook reveals that society will need to grow solar power by more than ten times to 5TW in order to close the emissions gap and limit global warming to well below 2°C, as set out by the Paris Agreement.

According to a World Bank report, the global potential of floating solar, even under moderate assumptions, is 2000 Gigawatt-peak on man-made reservoirs alone. Adding coastal waters, the potential becomes enormous.

“Hydropower operators have large plans to invest in floating solar solutions in their man-made reservoirs and hook it up to their already existing grid connections, but they need to be sure that the floating solar structure is sustainable, durable and safe,” said Børge Bjørneklett, CEO of Ocean Sun, in a statement.

“Developing and expanding floating solar power opens tremendous opportunities in providing the world with sufficient renewable energy,” added Prajeev Rasiah, Executive Vice-President for DNV GL’s energy business in Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Ocean Sun has agreements with suppliers of all key components for large-scale FPV deployment globally.

twitter @vrishi2011

Published on March 09, 2020

A letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.

Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.

In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.

We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.

But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.

I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.

A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!

Support Quality Journalism
solar
This article is closed for comments.
Please Email the Editor
You have read 1 out of 3 free articles for this week. For full access, please subscribe and get unlimited access to all sections.