The SWiM Deliverable D1.1, issued by imec and UHasselt, reviews the operating conditions and design concepts for floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems, with a focus on offshore applications. The report includes energy yield simulations for case studies in the North Sea, including the SeaVolt pilot in Ostende.

Offshore FPV faces harsher conditions than inland systems, including stronger winds, higher UV exposure, humidity, salinity, and biofouling, which demand robust, marine-grade materials and structural designs. Despite these challenges, offshore locations provide cooling benefits due to lower ambient and module temperatures, slightly improving PV efficiency.

Among design concepts, east-west orientation – although yielding 3–6% less annual energy than south-facing – offers advantages such as better space use, reduced wind loads, and alignment with demand peaks, making it promising for offshore deployment.

Platform elevation improves cooling modestly, and static shading simulations show that nearby wind turbine towers reduce annual PV yield by less than 3% in the worst-case scenario (tower south), reinforcing the viability of hybrid offshore wind–PV farms.

Overall, the report concludes that offshore FPV is technically feasible and complementary to offshore wind, provided durability and reliability challenges in marine environments are addressed. Further assessment of reliability aspects, including Failure Mechanisms and Effects Analysis, and mechanical stress evaluation, is in progress.

Fig 1. Daily variation of module temperature (daily mean) averaged over five years (2020-2024) in the North Sea (offshore) and Genk (inland) for an east-west facing system with 15° tilt.

Fig 2. Daily variation of UV dose averaged over five years (2020-2024) in the North Sea (offshore) and Genk (inland) for an east-west facing system with 15° tilt.

Fig 3. Simulated Specific Yield averaged over five years (2020-2024) in the North Sea (offshore) and Genk (inland) for an east-west facing system with 15° tilt.