Floating solar PV: science fiction or innovation?

16 Mar 2018

Floating solar PV panels are no longer science fiction. And a feasibility study we are carrying out will help make an innovative energy park on the North Sea a reality.

Let’s take solar PV one step further. This is what Philippe De Backer, Belgian’s State Secretary of the North Sea, stated in his press release after his meeting with well-known companies in Belgium, among them Tractebel.  

Installing floating solar PV panels is no longer science fiction. And a feasibility study we are carrying out will help make an innovative energy park on the North Sea a reality: first through research and then, hopefully, through a pilot project in a protected sea area.

Hein Dirix, Tractebel’s Chief Officer Infrastructure & Environment, explained to Belgium’s economic newspaper L’Echo: “It’s a complex question, because of the sea salt, the climate and the waves. But we are very keen on finding the answer. In the framework of the energy transition, we are constantly looking for innovative solutions. We all know that the offshore square metres for installing PV panels in our little country are limited…”

Read the full article here in L’Echo.

Related news

PANT01_project_image_240318

Designing a medical radioisotope production facility for cancer treatment

Jointly with its partner, MODULO architects, Tractebel will combine its infrastructure and nuclear expertise to support the design and construction of PanTera's actinium-225...

Find out more
28 Mar 2024
AdobeStock_383755906

Powering data centres with advanced nuclear technologies

Tractebel and its subsidiary company RED published a White Paper on how Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) can provide zero-emission, reliable, and sustainable energy to data...

Find out more
06 Mar 2024
Upper-Arun-photo-1

Nepal’s largest hydroelectric plant to add 1,061 MW to the national grid

Powering the future of Nepal: Plans for the monumental Upper Arun hydropower project will be set in motion in March 2024. Our experts will oversee every phase of the...

Find out more
01 Mar 2024
Thorizon_signing_website

Tractebel supports Thorizon on molten salt reactor development

Today, the Dutch-French start-up, Thorizon, and Tractebel signed a strategic three-year partnership to advance the Thorizon One molten salt reactor. Tractebel will provide...

Find out more
26 Feb 2024