Swimsol, an Austria-based provider of floating marine solar for resorts in the Maldives, has commissioned a 2.4 MW floating array on the holiday island of Cheval Blanc Randheli, allowing the property to run entirely on solar energy during the day.
The company says they are the largest floating solar panels in the Maldives.
“The project is based on our SolarSea platform, which has been developed over the past 15 years through a combination of physical scale models, basin testing, 3D simulations and real-world prototyping,” a spokesperson for Swimsol’s engineering team said. pv magazine. “For long-term durability in marine conditions, we use specialist aluminum alloys and stainless steel for the platform structure, with galvanized steel and sacrificial anodes for the mooring system. Solar modules are mounted more than 1.5m above the waterline, which prevents damage from wave impacts and biofouling on the panels themselves.”
The team explained that it used specially designed anchors suitable for sandy seabeds, with a minimal footprint compared to gravity or concrete block systems. Most mooring components are located in mid-water, the spokesperson said, while prestressing buoys and custom damping elements are used to prevent shock loads.
In addition, the company implemented double-glazed modules with high-quality connectors, suitable encapsulation materials and sealed junction boxes.
“The system is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). Battery inverters start the medium voltage transformer, connect to solar inverters, synchronize with the grid and run in parallel with diesel generators in virtual synchronous generator (VSG) mode to maintain grid stability,” the spokesperson said. “Once sufficient energy is stored and solar energy meets demand, the load on the generator is reduced and the units are turned off via dry contact. When solar energy demand exceeds demand, the excess energy charges the battery; when full, solar energy production is limited to the load.”
The 2.4 MW Cheval Blanc Randheli plant is expected to save the resort approximately $1.5 million per year in diesel costs. The breakeven diesel price for SolarSea systems is typically between $0.65 and $0.85 per liter, according to Swimsol. As battery storage is incorporated into newer projects, the breakeven point is shifting to the upper end of that range, well below current diesel prices in the Maldives.
“When we installed our first prototype in 2014, there were a lot of very valid questions about whether it would hold up. More than a decade later, these early platforms are still producing,” says Martin Putschek, founder and CEO of Swimsol. “The 2.4 MW system at Cheval Blanc proves it can work at scale. Multiple SolarSea projects have now been completed, with many more underway in the Maldives, Seychelles and other island nations.”
