14 DAY TRIAL // The news just broke that DNV is planning on taking the solar power industry off mainland and shipping it out at sea.
More precisely, their solar island concept will make it possible for the metropolis of the future to see to it that its electricity demands are met with the help of sun power, without urban architects having to set aside considerable portions of land in order to accommodate for countless photovoltaic installations.
Marine Link says that these floating solar islands will be made up of several hexagonal arrays which can be linked with one another in considerably large numbers.
Thus, the resulting structure could allow for the installation of roughly 4,200 solar panels and its total surface will be the equivalent of a large football stadium.
DNV claims that, should things go as planned, one such solar island could generate about 2 MW of power, and that the technology behind this project will allow engineers to link several such islands together.
The result would be a so-called solar field, which could potentially meet the energy demands of 30,000 people.
Given the fact that the ocean is a considerably harsher environment, at least when compared to mainland, the people who came up with the working principles for these SUNdy solar fields made sure that they were both rigid and flexible enough to withstand the effects of waves, oceanic currents and potential storms.
“The key to creating an ocean-based structure of this size is the use of a tension-only design. Rather like a spider's web, this dynamic, compliant structure yields to the waves, yet is capable of withstanding considerable external loads acting upon it,” explained the Managing Director of the DNV Clean Technology Center in Singapore, Sanjay Kuttan.
Seeing how several previous studies have raised concerns with respect to the development of urban areas worldwide, it comes as good news that the cities of the future might be given the opportunity to develop as urban architects see fit without having to let go of their dependence on green energy sources.
Oil Price quotes Bjørn Tore Markussen, the chief operational officer at DNV, who commented on this solar island concept as follows:
“The SUNdy floating solar field concept offers sound and sustainable development prospects, particularly in Asia and the congested coastal megacities where there's limited opportunity for rooftop solar power and urban areas which command premium prices for large-scale mounted solar production.”