European recovery fund uplifts Dutch offshore floating solar ambitions

One of the largest funding programmes of the European Union, launched to accelerate the economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic, has provided a substantial subsidy for the development of an offshore floating solar farm off the coast of The Hague in the Netherlands.

A major European subsidy, awarded through REACT-EU (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe), is expected to contribute to the accelerated development and upscaling of offshore floating solar industry in the Netherlands.

The subsidy of almost €985,000 has been granted to Dutch offshore floating solar innovator Oceans of Energy, which already has floating solar plants deployed and operating offshore Netherlands.

For its latest project, the company plans to install a demonstrator plant at one of the offshore test sites forming part of Campus@Sea, a member of ImpactCity, which is an innovation hub for Dutch entrepreneurs focused on developing novel solutions in and around the sea.

In time, this solar farm could be scaled up to the capacity of 1GW, which is equivalent to a complete energy supply for 300,000 households, according to developers.

The Hague is looking forward to the arrival of the farm as it fits perfectly into the progressive policy of the municipality to support a sustainable economy and new energy sources, focused particularly on maritime innovations.

 “We are extremely happy that we can properly spend the available funds from Europe in this way, because the solar farm fits perfectly with the task facing us.

“There is an increasing need for clean energy, while land use is causing problems all over the world. Oceans of Energy’s floating solar farm holds tremendous promise to meet this challenge”, said Saskia Bruines, alderman for the economy at the Municipality of The Hague.

Aside from promoting the development of still emerging offshore floating solar industry in the Netherlands, the proposed solar farm can potentially make a major contribution to realizing sustainable energy goals across the world.

Allard van Hoeken, CEO of Oceans of Energy, agrees: “Our floating solar farm is unique in the world. We notice this from the overwhelming interest in our project. If we succeed in using the sea much more efficiently, we can remove constraints encountered with energy generation projects on land. That makes this project a rock-solid business case”.

According to Allard van Hoeken, the test area of ​​one square kilomere at Campus@Sea site provides a unique opportunity to further refine its offshore floating solar technology.

He also added that Oceans of Energy is currently looking to establish an operational base nearby the project site, in hopes of accelerating the development and subsequent expansion of the project.

“This is an iconic project”, emphasized Frank Puchala, who facilitated the grant application from Kansen voor West.

Kansen voor West represents a partnership between the four Randstad provinces (North and South Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland) and the four major cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht.

It was established to facilitate subsidies for business community in the region, sourced largely through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

“Multiple uses of the North Sea is a subject of ongoing discussions, and offshore floating solar farms perfectly match the ambitions set in the European Green Deal, so this project appeals to the imagination. Moreover, it presents an opportunity for Scheveningen.

“We hope to accelerate the journey towards sustainability with this subsidy and also to attract other innovative companies that want to go along with this”, Puchala added.

Saskia Bruines pointed out that the demonstrator off the coast of The Hague could present ‘a possible groundbreaking solution’ to the challenges of our time, as it perfectly fits the municipality’s ambition to be energy neutral by 2030.

“We are watching the developments with great expectations”, Bruines concluded.

Early in February 2021, the Dutch government published a roadmap for floating solar energy, outlining the opportunities and risks associated with this growing industry in the Netherlands.

The roadmap unveiled government’s plans to stimulate development and innovation, and remove potential barriers within the industry in order to have floating solar as viable energy option in the future.