Dutch-Norwegian offshore PV specialist SolarDuck, Italian investment fund Arrow Capital, and Italian developer New Developments have signed an agreement to develop a 540 MW floating wind-solar project off the coast of Italy.

The hybrid offshore plant will be located in the Gulf of Taranto, off the coast of Corigliano-Rossano, in Calabria. It will feature 28 floating wind turbines with a cumulative capacity of 420 MWp and 120 MWp of floating PV.

The development is part of Green Arrow Infrastructure of the Future Fund (GAIF) and is currently under permitting with an estimated commercial operation date in 2028.

The project will feature SolarDuck’s elevated platform technology, which allows PV panels to be deployed in significant wave heights, while maintaining a safe working environment for access and maintenance and minimizing environmental impacts.

“With the current momentum, we believe this is a unique opportunity for the offshore renewable energy industry to help shape a favorable regulatory framework and facilitate the scaling of OFPV,” said SolarDuck CEO Koen Burgers. “This is not just important for Italy, but also for other countries in the Mediterranean.”

SolarDuck unveiled its first demonstrator project in 2021. It deployed the 64 kW system at an inshore site on the Waal (Rhine) River, near IJzendoorn, the Netherlands.

Its floating arrays hold the solar panels more than 3 meters above the surface of the water, and are able to handle coastal sea conditions and hurricane-force winds. The systems are optimized for offshore sites in estuaries and natural harbors, as well as near-shore sites.

The basic floating platforms are triangular structures measuring 16 meters x 16 meters x 16 meters. They resemble offshore floating wind platforms or floating oil platforms and can be flexibly connected together to form large plants.