Following the collaboration agreement signed between SolarDuck and RWE in July this year, SolarDuck was selected as the exclusive provider for offshore floating solar (OFS) technology with integrated energy storage in RWE´s bid for the offshore wind farm HKW VII (Hollandse Kust West VII). The successful bid will now materialise a hybrid OFS power plant at scale. Koen Burgers, SolarDuck’s CEO, says this is a flagship project for SolarDuck and an important milestone for the wider OFS industry. “SolarDuck”, he adds, “being the first to build a hybrid project at this scale, will demonstrate the robustness of our solution, prove the important role of system integration in building future-fit energy systems, and enable the scaling of the technology to accelerate its adoption. We are proud to work together with our partner, RWE, in this important project.”

Delivering this project will enable SolarDuck to scale faster, reap the associated cost benefits and ultimately accelerate commercial projects at grid scale. Hybrid offshore wind and OFS projects promise to accelerate the adoption of OFS at scale. The complementarities between wind and solar resources as well as making better use of existing infrastructure and the ocean space will drive the growth of hybrid OFS projects. In this way, SolarDuck can have a more profound impact on decarbonizing the world, particularly in sunny regions of the world where land is scarce.

The project is due to become operational in 2026.