There are currently few of us working on systems at sea, but the number is growing. It is very probable that systems will continue to be installed bycompanies at sea in niche markets where the cost of electricity is high and the sea conditions are benign. It would also not be a huge leap to install a large system in a large, sheltered bay or port where the only difference from current systems floating on lakes is the sea water instead of fresh water. These systems could even be based on Ciel et Terre or similar technology which is designed for ponds and reservoirs but there is no reason it would not work in a sheltered bay or port where waves would never reach significant wave heights, say higher than 1 m. While it is not entirely clear where the Solar-at-Sea farm will be launched, the Netherlands certainly has that potential of utilizing sheltered areas of the sea which would not be in competition with other activities such as shipping, leisure and fishing.

Chapter Contents:

• 6.1 Solar cell technology
• 6.1.1 Semiconductor properties and growth
• 6.1.2 Semiconductor properties: the P – N junction
• 6.1.3 Crystalline solar cells
• 6.1.4 Thin film solar cells
• 6.2 Solar systems
• 6.2.1 Solar panels
• 6.3 Floating solar systems
• 6.3.1 Motivation
• 6.3.2 Components of a floating system
• 6.3.3 Chronology
• 6.3.4 Advantages and disadvantages
• 6.3.5 Systems at sea: motivation and special challenges
• 6.3.6 Systems at sea: current situation
• 6.3.6.1 The Solaqua Project (Malta)
• 6.3.6.2 Swimsol GmbH (Austria)
• 6.3.6.3 The Offshore Passive Photovoltaic Project (Malta)
• 6.3.6.4 Solar-at-Sea (The Netherlands)
• 6.3.7 Offshore solar: the future
• References

Inspec keywords: solar power; photovoltaic power systems; offshore installations; marine power systems; power generation planning; solar cells

Other keywords: solar cells; photovoltaic installations; Solar-at-Sea farm; offshore installations; marine solar energy

Subjects: Solar power stations and photovoltaic power systems; Power system planning and layout; Solar cells and arrays