DNV Validates Moss Maritime’s Offshore Floating Solar Design

DNV has issued a Statement of Conformity to Moss Maritime for the design brief outlining the design methodology for its offshore floating solar concept XolarSurf.

The Statement of Conformity issued to Moss Maritime 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.

This marks a significant milestone in the development of Moss Maritime’s technology, according to DNV; as 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 independent confirmation of the design brief will help Moss Maritime reduce risks as well as attract the investments needed for further advancing their floating solar technology. 

“We aim to have a prototype in the water by June. DNV’s Statement of Conformity is a recognition and a stamp of quality that gives us a good basis for further work. Compared to floating wind turbines, floating solar power technology is simpler, engineering costs are lower, and structures are easier to build. Floating solar power is also well suited for mass production, which will have a positive impact on price and deployment,” said Alexander Minge Thøgersen, Vice President of Engineering at Moss Maritime.

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.  

Also, 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.  

“Solar power development is an important element in the energy transition. Investing in the development of floating solar power is therefore highly interesting, especially in connection with co-locating with offshore wind farms.

“This provides both good area utilization and the possibility of cost reduction through the sharing of infrastructure. In practice, Moss Maritime has received an instruction manual, so that they can design and develop floating solar power that can withstand rough sea conditions”, said Hans Kristian Danielsen, senior vice president of global business development and sales enablement, Energy Systems at DNV.