The solar industry is booming again - and solutions previously considered niche technologies such as Floating PV (FPV), solar plants floating on bodies of water, are suddenly receiving a lot of attention as generation capacity needs to be diversified to meet solar expansion targets in many countries. Several innovation and research projects have been launched in Europe to drive the currently slow market development in floating solar. Floating solar is emerging as a technology of the future, yet it is not yet foreseeable to what extent solar power can be produced cheaply from floating solar arrays in the future. Arnoud van Druten, Director at Floating Energy Solutions, gives an overview of the status quo of Floating PV and dispels some myths about it.
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Arnoud van Druten is a Director at the business unit Floating Energy solutions part of the Sunprojects group. His focus is on the development of floating solar projects and improving the floating structures. As an entrepreneur he has been responsible for implementing several suntracking and east west floating projects.
Floating Energy, part of the Sunprojects consortium, wants to contribute to the sustainable development goals of 2030 and beyond. The basis for the floating solution design is finding the right balance between the environmental and societal impact. By combining the experience within Sunprojects with innovative engineering, Floating Energy took part in several national research pilots.
