SolarDuck and partners install Japan’s first offshore floating solar

Duch-Norwegian firm SolarDuck and Tokyo’s Tokyu Land Corporation, together with Kyocera Communication Systems, have installed what is said to be Japan’s first offshore floating solar photovoltaic (OFSPV) power plant on the sea surface.

This was an initiative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Policy Planning Bureau, named the Tokyo Bay eSG Project. Aiming to realize the world’s energy generation and transmission from the Tokyo Bay Area, this project is a demonstration project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

SolarDuck and Everblue Technologies were selected in November 2022 for their work in “cutting-edge renewable energy”. Since then, they have been collaborating on a demonstration project.

For the fiscal year (FY) 2024, the two mentioned companies are to conduct demonstrations of power generation with offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) power generation facilities, storage of electricity in batteries on the ground, and transportation of the storage batteries.

The renewable energy generated will be utilized for powering Open Street Corporation’s electric mobility vehicles and for powering and navigating an electric boat. There are plans to explore using renewable energy for upcoming events in the Takeshiba area of Tokyo Bay.

Aside from aiming for the practical application of Japan’s first OFPV power plan, the demonstration test of local energy production for local consumption, particularly in the Tokyo Bay area, contributes to the study of urban models that could be replicated in other regions of Japan and internationally.

The renewable energy from the offshore solar power generation facility (approximately 30m x 26m x 6m) situated in the central breakwater area will be stored in land-based storage batteries.

The energy will then be transferred to mobile batteries to supply power for events and electric mobility vehicles in Takeshiba and other bay areas.

SolarDuck is a part of the Nautical SUNRISE, a research & development (R&D) project that will support the world’s largest floating solar plant. The project aims to design, construct, and showcase a 5 MW offshore floating solar system utilizing SolarDuck’s modular solution.