Hydro has signed a memorandum of intent with SolarDuck, a company developing offshore floating solar energy technology, the TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd and TNB Research Sdn Bhd, two divisions of Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the country’s largest electricity provider.
They are working on a project aimed at enhancing offshore floating solar energy solutions in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Hydro will build and transport the aluminum components needed for the 780 kW SolarDuck offshore floating solar plant in addition to providing engineering support.
The construction project off the Malaysian island of Tioman is expected to be finished in 2025.[1]
According to Paul Warton, Executive Vice President of Hydro Extrusions, “Solar energy is part of the necessary shift to renewable energy. Extruded aluminum solutions are the perfect fit for such installations with their light weight and strength and the fact that they require little or no maintenance.”
Hydro supplied the aluminum profiles for the SolarDuck pilot project in 2021.
The collaboration with TNB will include deliveries from the Hydro extrusion facilities in Magnor, Norway, and Lichtervelde, Belgium.
There are few alternatives for producing wind energy in Southeast Asia due to the lack of wind and the land scarcity is making it increasingly difficult to build large-scale solar plants on Southeast Asian soil.
Moving solar out to sea opens up new opportunities for sustainable energy production in Malaysia and the rest of the region.
According to SolarDuck’s Chief Executive, Koen Burgers, offshore floating solar solutions are slated to become the most inexpensive marine energy technology by 2030, making this collaboration a crucial step towards a net-zero future for Malaysia.
The offshore floating solar’s triangle shape keeps the solar panels and electrical components well above the water’s surface while floating above the waves like a carpet.
Burgers stated, “Aluminium is our material of choice because of its strength-to-weight ratio and ability to withstand the corrosive offshore environment for the duration of the construction.”
References
- Jessica Casey, ‘Hydro joins renewable energy project offshore Malaysia’, Hydro, 16 June 2023, https://www.hydro.com/en/media/news/2023/hydro-joins-renewable-energy-project-offshore-malaysia/[↩]
