Environmental assessment of offshore floating photovoltaic systems

SUREWAVE D7.3

Authors: Maximilian Breyer, Sven Gärtner, Heiko Keller, Guido Reinhardt, Nina Wallmann

The SUREWAVE project "Structurally reliable offshore floating PV solution integrating circular concrete floating breakwater", funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme, is developing and testing a new concept for floating photovoltaic (PV) systems in offshore marine environments. The main challenge is to protect the solar modules from the harsh weather and marine conditions. The aim is to massively expand the area suitable for PV installations and thus to support the European Union’s decarbonisation ambitions. Among other things, the project has developed floating breakwaters made of innovative concrete mixtures and innovative, more stable connectors between the individual solar modules.
The project is accompanied by an integrated sustainability assessment. The sustainability of the innovative concept was analysed from a technological, environmental, social and economic perspective. This study presents the results of the environmental assessment carried out by ifeu. It covers both a life cycle assessment addressing global and regional environmental impacts and an assessment of local environmental impacts.