Jianfeng Gu | EyeEm | Getty Images Norway's Statkraft, one of Europe's largest producers of renewable energy, is pressing ahead with plans to build its first ever floating solar facility. Its Albanian unit has chosen a Norwegian company, Ocean Sun, to provide it with a floating solar plant in a reservoir in the European country. Ocean Sun was set up in 2016 and specializes in floating-solar technology. The solar park in Albania will be made up of four 0.5 megawatt (MW) units, Statkraft said in an announcement Tuesday. Investment in the project will amount to 2.3 million euros ($2.59 million). "Testing new technology for floating solar power panels fits very well with Statkraft's strategy to grow our renewable energy generation from hydro, wind and solar," Christian Rynning-Tonnesen, Statkraft's CEO, said in a statement. "If the technology is proven successful and the potential for cost-competitiveness can be achieved, a wider application of floating solar may take place in other Statkraft locations," he added. In October 2018, a report from the World Bank Group and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore stated that the worldwide capacity of floating solar had increased from 10 MW at the end of 2014 to 1.1 gigawatts (GW) by September 2018. The report went on to state that capacity could potentially reach 400 GW worldwide, although no time frame was provided. Statkraft said that its floating solar plant would be built during 2019 and 2020, subject to final regulatory approvals. A world leader in hydropower, Statkraft describes itself as "Europe's largest generator of renewable energy." Owned by the Norwegian state, it employs 3,600 people across 15 countries.
Statkraft is to test its first floating solar power plant, a €2.3m ($2.6m), 2 MW park on an Albanian reservoir. The Norwegian company will work alongside compatriot firm Jianfeng Gu to build the four 0.5 MW plants. If the floating solar test works, said Statkraft, it will install similar schemes at other locations. Subject to final approvals, work is expected to start in Albania in 2019. In 2018 the World Bank Group and Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore said floating solar capacity had grown from 10 MW to 1.1 GW in four years.