A major milestone has been reached in the development of the world's first offshore solar farm integrated within an offshore wind farm. The assembly of the offshore solar farm has been successfully completed at the Port of Amsterdam, and the system is ready for offshore installation. The system, supplied and built by Oceans of Energy, is larger than a football field and is set to integrate power supply at the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm in Summer 2025. The wind farm, operated by Crosswind, a Joint Venture by Shell and Eneco, is located 18.5km offshore in the North Sea.
The port assembly of the pre-fabricated floating solar units was completed within 3 days and sets the scene for scaling the technology towards large scale projects. A festive ceremony has been organized to celebrate the inauguration and namegiving of the offshore solar farm in the port of Amsterdam on the 26th of June.
"The innovation program of the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm paves the way for key technologies that may further enhance offshore wind projects," said Maria Kalogera, Innovations Manager, CrossWind. She continues: "The offshore solar scope is an exciting innovation that can contribute to more renewable energy production from the same site."
The Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth says: "The Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth is looking forward to the results of the offshore solar system and assessing it's potential in combination with offshore wind farms. Offshore solar is a fast developing industry led by organizations in the Netherlands that has both a significant potential for emission reductions as well as for Dutch industrial development. "
"The Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO / Dutch Enterprise Agency) is happy to welcome the first offshore solar farm to be integrated in a Dutch offshore wind concession" said Geert Harm Boerhave, RVO Wind op Zee. "The Netherlands has established a unique policy to support innovation in offshore wind farm concessions, starting at the Hollandse Kust Noord site. Seeing the offshore solar pilot now materializing is a large compliment to the project partners.".
"The Oceans of Energy offshore solar farm floats in the sea at water level, like a waterlily, therefore we have named it Nymphaea Aurora'," says Allard van Hoeken, Founder & CEO, Oceans of Energy. He continues: "Nymphaea Aurora is a water lily found in Northern Europe, that varies colors from yellow, symbol of energy, to red, a symbol of strength. Nymphaea is the family name for water lilies, which are nature's solar collectors, floating at water-level, just like our technology. Large scale water-level offshore structures is something novel, it is the key innovation for technological and economical breakthrough of offshore solar worldwide. It allows scaling up to large sizes, with minimum material usage. Just like waterlilies can do."
"The Netherlands is a frontrunner in offshore solar energy. Thanks to its unique combination of maritime expertise, innovative strength, and public-private partnerships, Dutch companies like Oceans of Energy are the first to bring groundbreaking technologies like offshore solar to open sea. This project not only marks a world first but also represents significant export potential. As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we are committed to strengthening and expanding our leading position internationally," says Rogier van Tooren, International Enterprise Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The Port of Amsterdam is proud to host innovations which have the potential to accelerate the energy transition, such as the Oceans of Energy floating solar concept. We are happy to see the project now move towards offshore production, as the next step towards industrial scale production", says Dorine Bosman, Chief Investment Officer Port of Amsterdam
About CrossWind
CrossWind is a joint venture between Shell and Eneco, established to develop and operate the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm, located 18.5 kilometers off the Dutch coast near Egmond aan Zee. Operational since December 2023, the wind farm boasts an installed capacity of 759 MW, generating at least 3.3 TWh annually. To address the intermittency challenges of wind energy, CrossWind is implementing several key innovations.
About Oceans of Energy
Oceans of Energy is pioneer and world leader in offshore solar. Founded in 2016, the company was established to develop an innovative floating solar foundation capable of withstanding any offshore conditions. In 2019, it installed the world's first offshore solar farm in high waves off the coast of The Hague. It proved to the world that offshore solar in high-wave conditions is a reality, having operated continuously for four years in the rough North Sea - including during more than 10 categorized (winter) storms. In 2023, the first commercial contract for an offshore solar farm was signed with Crosswind, for which the engineering, permitting and fabrication phases were successfully completed, and the offshore installation campaign commenced in April 2025. Oceans of Energy also leads and facilitates a wide range of ecological research to understand the environmental context and actively explores nature-enhancing opportunities. Projects are supported by RVO, MIT-Zuid-Holland, REACT-EU, INTERREG, and Horizon-2020 programs, amongst others. Crosswind is Oceans of Energy's first commercial type customer.
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For more information:
Oceans of Energy
Ariane van Hoeken
ariane@oceansofenergy.blue
+31 6 48 65 09 37
CrossWind
Anna van den Broek
anna.vandenbroek@shell.com
