Ocean Sun, Statkraft reinstall 500kWp floating solar unit in Albania

Europe’s largest renewable energy generator Statkraft and its partner Ocean Sun have completed the reinstallation of the 500kWp floating solar plant in Albania that was damaged and retrieved in mid-2021.

After some delay due to bad weather and long lead time of material, Ocean Sun and Statkraft completed the reinstallation of the first 500 kWp floater in Albania.

Commissioning and connection to the grid is pending delivery of minor electrical components between floater and transformer, according to the partners.

To remind, the 500kWp floating solar unit was severely damaged in June 2021, forcing the developers to retrieve the unit ashore.

Following a thorough root cause analysis for the failure – launched immediately after the incident – the weather conditions were identified as the main cause, with wind speeds above the design criteria applied for the solution installed.

After the analysis, the Norwegian floating solar specialist Ocean Sun has implemented design changes suitable for high winds and new operational practices.

These have been verified by meteorologist and naval architects from well reputed third-party institutions, the company said.

The floater is part of a larger project being developed by Statkraft and Ocean Sun, that will eventually see the total of 2MWp floating solar plant installed on the Banja reservoir.

The remaining 1.5MWp will be installed in a second phase later during 2022, according to Ocean Sun.