Merganser offshore solar pilot finds test site in North Sea

May 10, 2023, by Amir Garanovic

Industry consortium behind the Merganser offshore solar platform, led by SolarDuck, has selected a test site offshore the Netherlands for the development of innovative pilot project.

The location for the offshore floating solar pilot Merganser will be at the North Sea Farmers offshore test site, located around 12 km off the coast of The Hague in Netherlands.

Merganser will be installed at the end of the summer and will be tested for the coming years, according to SolarDuck, which forms an industry consortium together with marine research institutes TU Delft, TNO, MARIN and Deltares established to deliver the project.

The project received €7.8 million subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to demonstrate six linked offshore floating solar platforms, measuring 65 meters in diameter, that will be able to deliver 500kWp of clean power.

Together with partners RWE, Norsk Hydro and Damen, SolarDuck plans to start assembling the platform soon in Amsterdam at TMA Logistics.

“We are proud to host SolarDuck as one of the pilots at our test site. This is again a great step towards hybrid offshore wind farms and the use of the test site as a stepping stone in this development,” said Zinzi Reimert, manager for the offshore test site at North Sea Farmers said after she signed the contract with SolarDuck’s head of supply chain, Nick Van Keulen.

To remind, North Sea Farmers – part of the Campus@Sea community – owns a license to use 6 km2 of the North Sea as a test site offshore The Hague, with six 1kmw plots available for testing of different technologies and devices.

The Campus@Sea initiative aims to promote sustainable and multiple use of the North Sea by providing a meeting place for innovators with new ideas and offering housing for maritime companies that want to learn and innovate.

The project brings together educational and research institutions, businesses, government, and social organizations to share knowledge, engage in dialogue, and develop innovations focused on achieving multiple use of the sea.