SolarCleano, a Luxembourg-based provider of PV robotics solutions, is 1 one of 16 partners that have joined the EU-funded BAMBOO project which aims to test and scale large-scale off-shore solar farms.
As the need for renewable energy solutions continues to grow, so does the ingenuity of the proposed solutions. Floating offshore PV farms is one such solution that makes use of the wide ocean surface and its direct reception of sunlight to generate green energy.
“The floating PV sector, although it may still be a relatively small fraction of the total PV capacity, has been experiencing rapid growth in recent years due to increasing awareness of its benefits, technological advancements, and supportive policies in various countries.”
Marina Salicath Laurance, EU funds coordinator at SolarCleano
The three-year BAMBOO (Building scAlable Modular Bamboo-inspired Offshore sOlar systems) project which began in January 2024 aims taims to resolve some of the current challenges for the rollout of large-scale offshore solar and their integration into new and existing wind farms. The EU is contributing close to €7m to the project whose costs are projected to amount to €9.2m.
Having already worked on on-shore floating PV panels projects in the past, SolarCleano was invited by Oceans of Energy in the Netherlands to work on this project and form a consortium with the technology developers Solarge, TKF, Pauwels Transformers, and a range of energy consultants.
“We approach the PV maintenance market in a holistic way and our ambition is to be able to deliver solutions and lead that market even in challenging applications such as this off-shore floating PV project,” said Marina, highlighting the company’s desires to define the future standards of the industry.
Within the next 36 months, the project hopes to achieve its objectives of maturing the technologies and attract the necessary funding to pioneer 100-200 MW offshore solar farm within a Vattenfall offshore wind farm by the end of the decade.
