General – Offshore Solar Farm
A major milestone has been reached in the development of the world’s first offshore solar farm integrated within an offshore wind farm.
The assembly of the offshore solar farm has been completed at the Port of Amsterdam, and the system is ready for offshore installation.
The system, supplied and built by Oceans of Energy, is larger than a football field and is set to integrate power supply at the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm in Summer 2025. The wind farm, operated by Crosswind, a Joint Venture by Shell and Eneco, is located 18.5km offshore in the North Sea.
The port assembly of the pre-fabricated floating solar units was completed within 3 days and sets the stage for scaling the technology for large-scale projects. A festive ceremony has been organized to celebrate the inauguration and naming of the offshore solar farm in the port of Amsterdam on June 26th.
“The innovation program of the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm paves the way for key technologies that may further enhance offshore wind projects,” said Maria Kalogera, Innovations Manager, CrossWind. She continues: “The offshore solar scope is an exciting innovation that can contribute to more renewable energy production from the same site.”
“The Oceans of Energy offshore solar farm floats in the sea at water level, like a waterlily, therefore we have named it ‘Nymphaea Aurora’,” says Allard van Hoeken, Founder & CEO, Oceans of Energy. He continues: “Nymphaea Aurora is a water lily found in Northern Europe, that varies colors from yellow, symbol of energy, to red, a symbol of strength. Nymphaea is the family name for water lilies, which are nature’s solar collectors, floating at water-level, just like our technology. Large scale water-level offshore structures is something novel, it is the key innovation for technological and economical breakthrough of offshore solar worldwide. It allows scaling up to large sizes, with minimum material usage. Just like waterlilies can do.”
