Feasibility and comparative study for a conceptual design of offshore floating photovoltaic platform

With the rapid development of onshore solar power plants in China, land resources have gradually become scarce. To explore alternative solutions, floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems have garnered significant attention, particularly the offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) systems. Beyond saving land resources, offshore wind power plants and offshore PV power plants exhibit complementarity in their power generation profiles. However, the most critical challenge lies in the high capital expenditure (CAPEX) of OFPV systems, and the industry has not yet reached a consensus on a mature design scheme. In this study, to reduce the cost of OFPV systems, a three-column OFPV platform with an asymmetric water-area layout is proposed, and a feasibility analysis is conducted accordingly. For the purpose of comparative research, two types of platforms are introduced as reference: the truss-spar platform and the classic four-column semi-submersible platform.