An international team of researchers has completed a preliminary techno-economic study on the global potential for offshore floating PV (OFPV). The results provide benchmarking of project costs, country-specific economic assumptions and a global assessment of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for offshore solar.
An international team led by researchers from the Australian environmental and energy focused unit of RINA Consulting, part of Italy-based RINA, has analyzed offshore FPV (OFPV) resources worldwide based on technical feasibility, energy production and costs in an effort to provide estimates on suitable locations, costs and energy generation potential.
The study took into account real-world technical constraints such as wind, waves, depth, ice, shipping lanes and protected areas, said Carlos D. Rodríguez-Gallegos, corresponding author of the study.
It integrated geographical, climatic and economic datasets to model potential OFPV energy production. The calculations include ten different panel tilt and tracker configurations. System costs and levelized electricity costs (LCOE) were estimated globally for each country, taking into account the size of territorial waters and the location of exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
“It provides the most detailed global LCOE mapping ever conducted for offshore floating PV (OFPV), with benchmarking of real project costs and country-specific economic assumptions,” Rodríguez-Gallegos said. pv magazine.
The analysis found that selected areas showed ‘promising’ cost-effectiveness, with 34% of regions achieving an LCOE of less than 10 USDc per kWh. When it comes to regional benefits, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia were found to be the most suitable areas for cost-competitive OFPV due to the irradiance, bathymetry and LCOE metrics.
“The data shows that most of the areas with very low LCOE values (less than 6 USDc per kWh) are in Malaysia and Thailand, each contributing 53% and 27% respectively to the total available PV capacity within this range.,” the report said.
It also said: “Furthermore, in 53% of the regions analyzed, the FPV water area required to meet electricity demand corresponds to an LCOE of less than $0.15/kWh, underscoring the potential cost competitiveness of OFPV.”
The researchers noted that they found tracker-based systems offer better performance, but added that fixed-tilt and bifacial panel configurations “remain most practical for early-stage deployment.”
The energy modeling was validated using data from FPV systems currently operating at six locations in Singapore, Israel, Norway and the Maldives. These FPV locations include inland reservoirs, coastal waters and open sea FPVs. The cost model was reportedly compared to existing FPV project data (2020-2025) to align offshore cost estimates with real-world financials and installed systems.
The researchers expect the study will be used to “determine if and where OFPV can be deployed economically,” and as a starting point for more accurate local assessments. They noted the need for future research to refine the models with real-world data from pilots, as well as continued technological and regulatory developments.
The work was reported in “Global assessment of floating marine photovoltaics: technical potential, cost competitiveness and implementation path”, published by Energy and environmental sciences. The team included researchers from the Singapore-based Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). National University of Singapore (NUS)and Xfloat Pte. Ltd Drive, as well as Norway-based BRIZO Floating Solar Technology and Austria-based Swimsol.
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