Solar farm ready for installation at wind farm

Oceans of Energy offshore solar farm Nymphaea Aurora (Source: Oceans of Energy)
The offshore solar farm, Nymphaea Aurora, developed by Oceans of Energy, is now ready for towing from the Port of Amsterdam to the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm some 18km off the Dutch coast in the North Sea.
The solar farm is larger than a football field and will provide an integrated power supply, together with the wind farm, from summer next year. The prefabricated floating solar units were assembled in Amsterdam port over three days.
The offshore facility is operated by CrossWind, a joint venture between energy company Shell and Dutch power firm, Eneco. The combination of offshore wind and solar power is expected to generate a substantial new clean energy source as well as compensating for intermittent energy supply from offshore wind farms.
Maria Kalogera, CrossWind Innovations manager, said: “The innovation programme of the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm paves the way for key technologies that may further enhance offshore wind projects. The offshore solar scope is an exciting innovation that can contribute to more renewable energy production from the same site.”
The Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth issued a statement saying that it looks forward to the results of the offshore solar system and its potential for operating in combination with the wind farm.
“Offshore solar is a fast developing industry led by organisations in the Netherlands that has both a significant potential for emission reductions as well as for Dutch industrial development,” the Ministry declared.
The Hollandse Kust Noord, commissioned in December 2023, has an installed capacity of 759MW and generates at least 3.3TWh of energy each year.