Nautical SUNRISE to develop 5 MW floating solar project off the west coast of the Netherlands

The Nautical SUNRISE consortium partners have commenced works for a 5 MW offshore floating solar system that will be integrated with RWE’s 800 MW OranjeWind (Hollandse Kust West VII) wind farm off the west coast of the Netherlands.

Launched in December 2023, the EUR8.4 million (US$9.1 million) project, funded in part by EUR6.8 million (US$7.37 million) from the Horizon Europe program, aims to conduct research and development on offshore floating solar (OFS) systems and their components.

As a standalone system or incorporated into offshore wind farms, the project will pave the way for the large-scale deployment and commercialization of offshore floating solar systems in the future. The offshore solar project will incorporate floating solar panels, a subsea lithium-ion battery, and a LiDAR system to predict power production more accurately. The Nautical SUNRISE partnership will carry out comprehensive research and testing to guarantee the offshore floating solar systems' dependability, survivability, electrical stability, and yield before their offshore deployment. 

RWE won the right to build and operate OranjeWind offshore wind farm in November 2022. The Offshore wind farm is expected to start producing renewable electricity in 2027.