In recent years, global renewable energy has developed rapidly, especially photovoltaic power generation technology has made continuous breakthroughs. In 2024, the world’s largest open offshore photovoltaic project was successfully connected to the grid in Shandong, China, which once again attracted the industry’s attention to the future of offshore photovoltaics. This project not only marks the maturity of offshore photovoltaic technology, but also provides a new direction for the development of renewable energy in the future. So, why is offshore photovoltaic so popular? What are the future development prospects?
1. Advantages of offshore photovoltaics: Why is it worth developing?
Offshore photovoltaics (Offshore Floating PV) refers to the installation of photovoltaic modules on the sea surface for power generation. Compared with traditional land photovoltaics, it has many advantages:
1. Land resource conservation
Land photovoltaic power stations occupy a lot of land resources, while offshore photovoltaics use ocean space, which helps to alleviate land tension problems, especially in densely populated areas or areas with scarce land resources.
2. Higher power generation efficiency
Due to the relatively stable temperature at sea, the cooling effect of the water body makes the temperature of photovoltaic modules lower, thereby improving power generation efficiency.
Studies have shown that the power generation of offshore photovoltaics can be 5%~10% higher than that of land photovoltaics.
3. Comprehensive utilization of renewable energy
Offshore photovoltaics can be combined with offshore wind power to form a “wind-solar complementary” energy system to improve the stability of energy supply.
It can also be combined with industries such as marine ranching and seawater desalination to achieve multifunctional integrated development.
4. Reduce dust obstruction and improve the cleanliness of photovoltaic panels
Land photovoltaics are easily affected by sand and mud, resulting in surface pollution of photovoltaic modules, while offshore photovoltaics are less affected by this and have relatively lower maintenance costs.
2. The world’s largest offshore photovoltaic project: Shandong’s demonstration role
The successful grid connection of the world’s largest open offshore photovoltaic project in Dongying, Shandong, marks a new stage of offshore photovoltaics towards large-scale and commercial development. The features of the project include:
1. Large installed capacity: Gigawatt-level offshore photovoltaic power station, with a total installed capacity of 1GW, is the world’s first project to reach this level.
2. Long offshore distance: The project is located in the sea area 8 kilometers offshore, adapting to the complex marine environment, proving the technical feasibility of offshore photovoltaics.
3. Use of advanced technology: The use of corrosion-resistant components, intelligent operation and maintenance systems and floating brackets has improved the reliability and durability of the project.
This project is not only an important milestone in China’s energy transformation, but also provides experience for other countries to learn from and promote the development of global offshore photovoltaics.
III. Current status and future trends of global offshore photovoltaics
1. Main countries where offshore photovoltaics are currently used
At present, in addition to China, countries such as the Netherlands, Japan, and Singapore are also actively deploying offshore photovoltaics.
Netherlands: As early as 2019, the “North Sea Solar” project was launched to explore the feasibility of offshore photovoltaics in the North Sea.
Japan: Limited by the land area, it has vigorously developed floating photovoltaic technology in recent years and has built several offshore photovoltaic power stations.
Singapore: The world’s largest floating offshore photovoltaic project (60MW) has been built and is continuing to promote more offshore photovoltaic applications.
2. Future trends in the development of offshore photovoltaics
(1) Integrated development with offshore wind power
In the future, offshore photovoltaics and offshore wind power will gradually form a “wind-solar complementary” model, using the same sea area for comprehensive energy development. This can not only reduce construction costs, but also improve energy efficiency.
(2) Technological breakthroughs and cost reduction
At present, offshore photovoltaics still face technical challenges such as salt spray corrosion, wind and wave impact, and difficult maintenance. However, with the advancement of technologies such as corrosion-resistant photovoltaic components, intelligent operation and maintenance, and AI optimization management, the construction and maintenance costs of offshore photovoltaics will gradually decrease in the future.
(3) Policy and investment support
Governments of various countries are increasing their policy support for offshore photovoltaics, for example:
China: The “14th Five-Year Plan” clearly supports the development of offshore new energy and encourages the coordinated development of offshore photovoltaics and offshore wind power.
EU: Proposed the “European Green Deal” and plans to build a large-scale offshore renewable energy base by 2050, of which photovoltaics will account for an important share.
IV. Challenges and coping strategies of offshore photovoltaics
Although offshore photovoltaics have broad prospects, they still face some challenges, such as:
1. Technical challenges
Wind and wave resistant design: photovoltaic components and brackets need to withstand harsh marine environments (such as typhoons and high waves).
Anti-corrosion materials: Seawater is highly corrosive, and photovoltaic modules, brackets, connectors, etc. need to use salt spray corrosion resistant materials.
Post time: Feb-25-2025