NHPC, India’s largest hydropower company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Norwegian company Ocean Sun to implement floating solar power technology.
Signed on 29 April 2024, this MoU aims to explore primary areas of partnership concerning Ocean Sun’s floating solar energy technology, which utilizes photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on hydro-elastic membranes at suitable locations identified by NHPC.
“The intention is to initiate the construction of a 2MW demonstration project in one of NHPC’s existing hydropower reservoirs in 2024,” said Ocean Sun .
In attendance at the Embassy of Norway in New Delhi on April 29, 2024, for the hybrid-mode signing of the MoU, were May-Ellen Steiner , Ambassador of Norway to India; Shri Raj Kumar Choudhary , Technical Director at NHPC; Shri Rajat Gupta , Executive Director (SBDC) at NHPC; and Aquino Vimal , Ambassador of India to Oslo, Norway.
The occasion also included the presence of Shri V.R. Shrivastava , Executive Director (REGH) at NHPC, and Shri Kristian Torvald , CEO of Ocean Sun, who signed the memorandum.
Ocean Sun’s technology is based on a thin membrane, used to float the customized PV modules, enabling low material usage, simple installation, efficiency from water cooling, robustness in rough water environments, and reduced water evaporation.
This is not the first time that Ocean Sun has signed a MoU with an Indian company. In November 2023, Ocean Sun signed one with SJVN Green Energy, a subsidiary of India’s state-owned SJVN.
Under the MoU between the two companies , it was agreed that SJVN Green Energy would develop and finance a pilot membrane-based floating solar project of about 2 MW, with technological support from Ocean Sun.