SPIC commissions floating solar-offshore wind hybrid off China
Design of the Haiyang project - PV floaters connected to an offshore wind turbine. Image source: Ocean Sun (www.oceansun.no)
November 1 (Renewables Now) - Chinese power generation company State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has commissioned 0.5 MWp of floating solar arrays hybridised with an offshore wind turbine in the waters off the coast of Haiyang in China’s Shandong province.
The project used two arrays that were designed by Norwegian floating solar specialist Ocean Sun AS (FRA:OW7) based on its patented technology, the company said on Tuesday as it announced the news of the commissioning.
The project, which SPIC funded, is said to be the world’s first offshore floating solar and wind hybrid, according to Ocean Sun.
The floating arrays were connected to a transformer on a SPIC-owned wind turbine and then hooked to the power grid through the submarine cable of the wind farm, the Norwegian firm said.
The whole setup will now undergo a pilot run and full technical and economic demonstration. The plan for the next phase is to use Ocean Sun’s technology to install 20 MWp of floating solar plants and connect them to the remaining turbines in 2023.
