DNV helps Moss Maritime to reduce floating solar design risks
DNV has collaborated with Moss Maritime, a leading offshore design and engineering services provider, to accelerate the deployment of floating solar technology in harsh environmental conditions, according to the company's release.
DNV has handed over a Statement of Conformity to Moss Maritime for their design brief outlining the design methodology for their concept called XolarSurf. This marks a significant milestone in the development of their technology. The recognition helps pave the way for further developments for floating solar in exposed waters and the opportunity of providing clean energy close to shore without the use of area on land.
The Statement of Conformity verifies that the design methodology complies with DNV general principles and requirements following the standard DNV-ST-0119. DNV has conducted independent investigations to identify and reduce errors, deficiencies, and weaknesses in methods and analytical tools. Wind, waves, and currents affect structures in the sea, and DNV’s input ensures that this is taken care of in the further development of the concept.
The independent confirmation of their design brief helps Moss Maritime reduce risks as well as attract the investments needed for further advancing their floating solar technology.
DNV’s 2023 Energy Transition Outlook highlighted the staggering growth that solar photovoltaics (PV) has seen in recent years, moving from 1 GW installed annually in 2004 to 250 GW installed in 2022 alone. With land-based growth on this scale, the large amount of space required for development presents a challenge that may be addressed by floating solar.
Floating solar technology must overcome rough sea conditions that land-based solar farms are exempt from, the potential benefits, such as reduced land footprint and co-location with existing wind farms, present compelling opportunities. In fact, by combining floating solar with offshore wind farms and thereby leveraging the same energy infrastructure and export cables, the resulting energy production capacity per used area could be drastically improved. This greatly underscores the viability of floating solar PV as a key component of the renewable energy landscape and its relevance in the energy transition.
