Bekaert has joined the Nautical SUNRISE project, aimed at advancing the mooring technology for offshore floating solar power generation and is set to support what the company calls the world’s largest offshore floating solar power installation.
The project aims to design and build a 5 MW offshore floating solar system using the modular solution of Dutch floating solar company SolarDuck. RWE will provide investment for the installation and deployment, with the system planned to be electrically integrated, certified and located within RWE’s OranjeWind (Hollandse Kust West VII) wind farm off the west coast of the Netherlands.
“As part of this collaboration, our team will evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of various mooring solutions, including polyester, nylon and new technologies such as the TFI Marine SeaSpring load reduction device,” says Bekaert’s Christof Dewijngaert. “We are committed to exploring the stiffness characteristics of different mooring options under varying conditions, ensuring the optimal design for offshore floating PV.”
The project’s collaboration partners are: project lead Dutch Marine Energy Centre, SolarDuck, RWE, Blunova, Bekaert, Deltares, Hasselt University, KU Leuven, Oxford PV, SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Ocean, The Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, INESC TEC and WavEC Offshore Renewables.
