Valenciaport Completes Spain's First Offshore Solar Demonstrator
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- ports europeValenciaport completes Spain’s first marine solar demonstrator and starts testing
- Portal PortuarioPrimer demostrador solar marino precomercial de España completa instalación en Puerto de València
- Cruise MapperValencia Port begins testing of Spain’s first pre-commercial offshore floating solar project
Valenciaport completed the installation of Spain's first pre-commercial offshore solar demonstrator at the Port of València and began its testing phase. This is a floating photovoltaic system with a combined capacity of 1 MW, made up of two 500kW platforms, which will assess the performance of floating solar energy and its integration into port areas.
The two platforms, of the PV-bos type, were developed by the company BlueNewables with support from Naturgy and built at the San Enrique shipyard in Vigo. They are named Paiporta and Catarroja, in tribute to two of the Valencian municipalities most affected by the 2024 Dana floods, according to Portal Portuario and Cruise Mapper.
The testing and monitoring phase is taking place in the waters of the Port of València with the aim of gaining knowledge about the behavior of this technology under real marine operating conditions, analyzing its performance, maintenance and integration into port environments. Results and findings will be released as the demonstrator's operation progresses.
The project is part of Renmarinas Valenciaport, an initiative funded by the IDAE with European Union funds through NextGeneration EU, designed as a testing environment for marine renewable technologies. Under this framework, the Port Authority of València developed the test site and associated infrastructure, while Naturgy and BlueNewables will collaborate for two years on exchanging technical, operational and economic information derived from the project, including performance data, incidents, costs and lessons learned.
The demonstrator was presented during the 16th Enermar Technical Conference, held in Valencia and organized by the Renewable Energy Working Group of the Spanish Association of Naval and Oceanic Engineers, where participants visited the offshore solar platforms. According to Portal Portuario, this technology could complement offshore wind power and has potential applications in ports, islands and other coastal infrastructure, as a way to advance the decarbonization of the energy system.
