CIMC RAFFLES has recently launched and delivered China's first semi-submersible offshore floating solar power platform, which is a self-developed and self-owned intellectual property.
The platform has been officially handed over to CIMC Solar Marine Technology (Yantai) Co., Ltd., and it has been towed to the designated location for deployment.
The platform has four single float arrays and a total installed capacity of 400 kWp, as well as net deck area of approximately 1900 square meters. The platform is equipped with eight systems: floating structure support, buoyancy material, multi-body connection and mooring, fender collision avoidance, photovoltaic (PV) power generation and inverter, intelligent monitoring, dynamic subsea cable transmission, and power consumption. Furthermore, the platform can operate safely in open sea areas with wave heights of up to 6.5 meters, wind speeds of up to 34 meters per second, and tidal differences of up to 4.6 meters.
Aligning with China's "dual carbon" goals, the development prospects of the PV industry are highly promising. In 2022, CIMC RAFFLES partnered with the Yantai Municipal Government to jointly establish CIMC Solar, which offers integrated solutions for the comprehensive development of offshore PV, leveraging CIMC RAFFLES's rich experience in semi-submersible product engineering.
The construction phase of the semi-submersible offshore floating PV power generation platform. Credit: CIMC RAFFLES
The successful installation and smooth delivery of this PV power generation platform, as CIMC RAFFLES's first-generation offshore PV product, demonstrates the company's delivery capability in the commercial-scale semi-submersible PV platform. This marks a commendable milestone in CIMC RAFFLES and CIMC Solar's outstanding exploration of the photovoltaics field.
A spokesperson from CIMC Offshore Renewable Energy, the developer of the platform, declared that this floating PV power generation platform is China's first completed semi-submersible offshore PV demonstration project. With extensive experience in semi-submersible product engineering, CIMC Offshore Renewable Energy has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of semi-submersible floating PV power generation through the use of multi-float array connections. This platform will serve as an excellent model to future product development, large-scale application, and cost-effective verification, and will help pave the way towards the deep-sea development of semi-submersible PV power generation.
