The war against Putin and climate change (2): Solarizing offshore wind and islands

Disruptive cleantech innovations will play a vital role in the parallel war against climate change and against Russia’s fossil grip on Europe. This is nr 2 of 4 articles about four Scandinavian start-ups that each introduce new solutions to different parts of the global challenge.

Disclaimer: The writer is an early-phase investor and board-member in the four companies.

Huge investments in renewable energy are required to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas. But how many times have you heard that solar PV and offshore wind is too unstable to fill the need for “baseload” power? What is often overlooked is this: At sea, wind strength and solar radiation are inverse variables. During the day, when the sun is shining, there is usually less wind. In the evening and at night, or when the weather is rough, there is usually a lot of wind and no sunlight.

The perfect solution to this would therefore be to build hybrid offshore power plants that can combine wind and solar energy, and also integrate energy storage. This would not only provide more stable power, but also provide better utilization of transformer stations, submarine cables, a.o. Furthermore, as there needs to be a lot of space between the floating towers and turbines to avoid interference, a lot of open space will be available for solar panels between the turbines.

In July this year, RWE announced that the energy giant had selected the Dutch-Norwegian company Solar Duck as exclusive provider for offshore floating solar technology with integrated storage in RWE′s bid for the large Dutch offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust West. RWE will invest in the deployment of SolarDuck’s full-scale offshore pilot in the North Sea, and work with SolarDuck to develop offshore floating solar globally.

SolarDuck has developed and patented a unique and robust floating "triangle platform".The platform is designed to resist high waves, strong winds and a corrosive environment.The platform uses a design that permits the solar panels to “float” above the water and ride waves “like a carpet.”, keeping critical electrical components dry, clean and stable.

?“The integration of offshore floating solar into an offshore wind farm is a more efficient use of ocean space for energy generation”, says RWE, adding that the project also will include battery storage.

Batteries are not the only storage solution, however. One innovation under developmentinclude the use of the large aluminum buoys that hold the platform to store energy in the form of compressed air, so-called Compressed Air Storage technology. When energy is needed, the compressed air can be released in the same way as when you release the air from a bicycle tire. The air flow is then channeled through a gas engine or turbine that produces electricity. With integrated storage, the floating SolarDuck plant will be able to store electricity not used, and deliver it when the sun is no longer shining.

Offshore solar is needed not only to solarize wind farms in Europe. It is perhaps even more needed to replace polluting oil-fired power plants and diesel generators in island communities, coastal towns and industrial ports along the Sun-belt, areas that often don’t have enough space to build solar farms on land.

Of course, no one can say for sure today which technologies will prove most suited to deploy solar in harsh offshore conditions. But SolarDuck is certainly one of those pioneering companies that will help the world to transition away from oil and gas, and from Putin’s grip on world politics.