French company unveils plans for offshore solar farm in Arabian Sea

French company SolarinBlue has secured permit from the Indian government for a 1MWp offshore solar farm in the Arabian Sea, near the city of Mangalore.

SolarinBlue, through its India-based subsidiary SolarinBlue Energy, plans to build a 1MWp offshore solar farm at the site located 10 km from the shore, near the city of Mangalore, which is home to the seventh largest port of India.

The offshore solar farm is planned to be developed at site with 19 meters depth, occupying a total surface area of 200 by 200 meters.

According to SolarinBlue, preliminary studies have been conducted in cooperation with iDecK and assembly of the first units could start before the first quarter in 2024.

The Mangalore offshore solar project would provide electricity to the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (MESCOM), helping to decarbonize electricity generation for more than 1.5GWh per year – the equivalent of the electricity consumption of more than 7,000 households.

Floating photovoltaic solar energy is set to develop strongly in the coming years. Thanks to the lowest investment cost of marine energies and a zero visual impact from 3 km away from the coast, the potential of eligible sites is in the tens of GW, SolarinBlue said.

The potential for consumption is already there as more than 60% of the world’s population, or 3.8 billion people, live within 150 km of coastlines, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This technology also finds a natural synergy with the offshore wind farms, whether bottom-fixed or floating, with which mutualization of connections will be possible. Photovoltaic and wind power benefit from a favorable overlap, with solar power producing more in summer and in anticyclonic conditions, and wind power in winter.

SolarinBlue noted it is looking at massive co-location development prospects – over 20GW over the next five years. Sharing the costs of connection and offshore substations will also further reduce the cost of offshore wind and solar, the company expects.

To remind, SolarinBlue recently launched what’s said to be the first offshore solar farm in France as part of the Sun’Sète project. The project will grow to 25 units in its final version for a total installed power of 300kWp, and supply renewable electricity to the infrastructures of the Port of Sète.

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