Floating Solar Plus Wave Energy Smackdown For Fossil Fuels
Everybody is talking about a new EU clean power project that pairs floating solar with offshore wind turbines, but they’re missing half the story. Wave energy is also part of the project. The wave part is not getting much attention, probably because wave-to-electricity conversion has fallen behind wind and solar in the renewable energy race. Nevertheless, if all goes according to plan, the waters of the EU will be peppered with wave conversion devices as well as floating solar panels.
More Offshore Solar & Wind Turbines With Wave Energy, Too
The EU project is tackling the problem of how to make room for new offshore energy industries in busy coastal waters. Finding sites for new offshore wind farms can be a tough row to hoe, as offshore wind fans in the US can testify.
The new project is called EU-SCORES for “European SCalable Offshore Renewable Energy Sources.” The idea is to pair wind turbines with other clean power systems, with the aim of reducing the overall footprint of marine energy development.
EU-SCORES comes under the umbrella of the Dutch Marine Energy Centre, which will assess two sites for hybrid marine energy systems. One is a solar-plus-wind site in Belgium, which has been getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. Floating solar is a relatively new idea that has been catching on fast for application to inland water bodies including reservoirs as well as natural lakes and ponds. The idea of setting solar panels afloat in the open sea poses new technology challenges.
In that regard, EU-SCORES shares some similarities with the CrossWind offshore wind project under way in the Netherlands, which is also on track to receive floating solar panels.
However, EU-SCORES seems to be taking a much more aggressive approach to hybridizing offshore wind farms. As DMEC describes it, the “full-scale demonstrations are intended to prove how the increased power output and capacity installed per km2 will reduce the amount of marine space needed, thereby leaving more space for aquaculture, fisheries, shipping routes and environmentally protected zones.”
“Additional benefits achieved by co-using critical electrical infrastructures and exploring advanced operation and maintenance methodologies supported by innovative autonomous systems should lower the costs per MWh,” DMEC adds.
Wave Energy: It’s All About Co-Location, Location, Location
Where were we? Oh right, wave energy. If you caught that thing about co-using, that’s a critical issue for wave energy stakeholders. Translating the infinite, 24/7 motion of waves into electricity is a tantalizing goal, but one of the factors holding back the wave energy field is the relatively high cost of shunting clean kilowatts from seagoing wave energy generators over to coastal communities.
Back in 2014, the United Nations’ International Renewable Energy Agency took a look at the wave energy field and recorded 100 projects around the world, all of which were still in the pilot and demonstration phases. The early-stage nature of the technology made it difficult to project future costs for commercial-level projects. However, IRENA did come up with the figure of 22% for the proportion of lifetime costs that could be ascribed to power take-off systems.
IRENA also estimated that installation, operation, and maintenance, and mooring would account for another 41% of lifetime costs for wave energy projects. Co-location with offshore wind turbines would presumably shave away some of those costs as well.
About Those Locations…
Another kind of challenge for the wave energy industry is that the recovery potential varies considerably from one place to another. The one-size-fits-all nature of wind turbines and solar panels does not apply as much to the wave energy field, and that has slowed the development of more mature, efficient supply chains.
In 2016, the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory looked at the problem and noted that “wave energy technology is still an emerging form of renewable energy for which large-scale grid-connected project costs are currently poorly defined.”
“Ideally, device designers would like to know the resource conditions at economical project sites so they can optimize device designs. On the other hand, project developers need detailed device cost data to identify sites where projects are economical. That is, device design and siting are, to some extent, a coupled problem,” the lab continued.
A New Burst Of Energy For Wave Energy
Regardless of the challenges, wave energy fans have persisted, and it looks like all that hard work is about to pay off. The wave energy harvesting end of the EU-SCORES project is being attached to an offshore wind farm in Portugal, using buoy-type wave harvesting devices developed by the Swedish company CorPower Ocean, as the firm’s Commercial Director Kevin Rebenius is happy to explain.
“We see great value in showcasing the highly consistent and complementary power profile of wave energy, and how this can be combined with wind and solar to deliver a more stable and predictable electricity system based purely on renewables,” Rebenius said.
CorPower Ocean’s contribution to the wave energy field is a pumping system modeled on natural pumps such as those found in the human heart.
According to CorPower, its device can produce 5 times more electricity per ton than other wave energy harvesters, partly by enabling superior performance during calm periods and partly by maintaining performance during storms. Here, let’s have them explain.
“CorPower WECs can harvest the same amount of Annual Energy from a buoy with 1/10 volume compared to conventional point absorber WEC. 1. As comparison, a 300kW CorPower WEC has a diameter of 9m and weighs 60 tonnes. Getting large amounts of electricity from a small device significantly reduces CAPEX. The compact lightweight devices are also less costly to transport, install and service, bringing down OPEX.”
There Had To Be A Green Hydrogen Angle In There Somewhere…
CorPower is aiming to make the case for commercial viability by 2024. Meeting that goal will also provide a boost to other companies involved with EU-SCORES. For those of you keeping score at home, that includes the offshore floating solar company Oceans of Energy along with the familiar names of RWE, EDP, ENEL Green Power, and Simply Blue Group.
EU-SCORES could also add another notch in the belt of green hydrogen fans. CorPower, for one, is already making the pitch.
“The multi-source demonstrations in EU-SCORES will showcase the benefits of more consistent power output harnessing complementary power sources including waves, wind and sun, creating a more resilient and stable power system, higher capacity factors and a lower total cost of the power system. These aspects will also improve the business case for green hydrogen production, by allowing electrolysers to run at higher utilisation,” CorPower enthuses.
For those of you new to the topic, electrolysis refers to electrical systems that pop hydrogen gas out of water. That doesn’t make any sense at all from a climate action perspective if the electricity is sourced from fossil energy, but sub in renewables and the whole picture shifts.
The renewable energy angle is also a rather significant improvement over the current state of affairs, in which the global supply of hydrogen is sourced primarily from natural gas and coal. With the addition of seagoing solar panels and wave energy devices envisioned by EU-SCORES, it looks like end of the fossil grip on the global hydrogen economy is in sight.
Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey.
Photo: Array of wave energy harvesting devices, courtesy of CorPower Ocean.
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MINI has partnered with lifestyle brand, Deus Ex Machina, to develop this. It’s called the Skeg, and it’s a high-performance, racing-inspired electric concept car that’s sure to lighten the mood – by shedding fully 15% of its mass in the quest for speed.
One of a pair of exclusive, one-off concepts based on MINI’s John Cooper Works cars. The Deus Ex Machina Skeg celebrates MINI’s storied racing history with what the company calls, “a clean, minimal, and quiet rebellion,” that draws on materials, technologies, and philosophies from the world of surfing.
The electric MINI JCW Skeg is stripped to its essentials, with much of the steel and aluminum bits replaced with lightweight fiberglass to maximize acceleration while driving the minimalist aesthetic home. The end result weighs 15% less than the standard car – but makes the same stout 190 kW (258 hp) as the production car.
Surf’s up
The interior is stripped back to the barest essentials, reflecting BMW’s vision of a surf culture that prioritizes function over form. MINI claims the end result resembles a mobile surf shop, with fiberglass trays for wetsuits, specially shaped bins, neoprene seats, and other touches that “bring the surf culture into the interior.”
For their part, the BMW and MINI styling team seems pretty proud of its minimalistic electric endeavor. “In this extraordinary collaboration … every single detail has been crafted with artisanal precision and expertise,” says Holger Hampf, Head of MINI Design. “This has resulted in unique characters that are clearly perceived as belonging together through their distinctive design language and use of graphics.”
The concept retains the production version’s 54.2 kWh li-ion battery pack, up to 250 of WLTP range with the production aero kit, sprints from 0-100 km (62 mph) in just 5.9 seconds. With 15% less mass, though, that should jump to more than 255 miles, with 0-60 times dropping below 5.5 seconds.
I dig it – but I’d skip the surf bits and just appreciate the raw composite, minimalist interior look for what it is. Take a look at the image gallery, below, then let us know what you think of MINI’s Skeg concept in the comments.
MINI Skeg concept | gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: BMW MINI.
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Environment
Volvo Penta teams up with e-power to equip Boels with next-gen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Veteran marine and industrial power solutions company Volvo Penta has joined forces with energy solutions provider e-power to build battery energy storage systems (BESS). Volvo Penta’s battery systems for energy storage will power BESS units built by e-power that can be catered to a range of applications, most notably construction rental clients like Boels Rentals in Europe.
Volvo Penta is a provider of sustainable power solutions that currently serves land and sea applications under the Volvo Group umbrella. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the global manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
Nearly 100 years later, Volvo Penta remains an industry leader in marine propulsion systems and industrial engines. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the Swedish manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
For example, all Volvo Penta diesel engines now run on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing well-to-wheel emissions by up to 90% across the marine and industrial power industries. On the zero-emissions side, Volvo Penta has expressed its dedication to fossil-free power solutions, including battery electric components to serve heavy-duty applications such as terminal tractors, forklifts, drill rigs, and feed mixers, to name a few.
To leverage its battery electric value chain, Volvo Penta has also ventured into battery systems for energy storage (or BESS subsystems). These energy-dense, purpose-built BESS subsystems can provide portable, sustainable energy for all-electric charging and reduce grid dependency.
Volvo Penta to deploy battery systems for energy storage
Volvo Penta recently announced a strategic partnership with e-power, a Belgian power solutions provider. Together, Volvo Penta and e-power will develop a scalable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for Boels Rental.
The collaboration continues a long-standing partnership between all three companies. Boels – one of the largest construction rental companies is a long-time customer of e-power generators that utilize Volvo Penta engines. As the company shifts toward electrification and sustainability, it will again turn to those companies to deliver reliable performance.
Volvo Penta’s BESS subsystem comprises battery packs, a Battery Management System (BMS), DC/DC converters, and thermal management, combining to offer a compact, high-density, and transport-friendly solution optimized for rental operations. The company shared that this BESS design is integration-ready, enabling other OEMs like e-power to adapt and scale systems to customer-specific needs. Per e-power business support director, Jens Fets:
We’ve built our reputation on reliability and efficient power systems. Working again with Volvo Penta, this time on battery energy storage, allows us to meet the growing demand for energy in a silent, low-emissions, compact and mobile design—especially in rental applications.
The deployment of these new battery energy storage systems will help Boels cater to its customers’ growing demand for clean, silent, and mobile energy solutions in construction and other industrial applications.
Aside from being more quickly adaptable to customer needs, Volvo Penta says its BESS architecture marks an overall shift in rental power systems. This is welcome news for all who support a cleaner, more sustainable future across all industries.
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That didn’t take long! Just a few hours after Mercedes revealed the screen-heavy interior of its upcoming 2026 GLC EV, photos of the new crossover’s exterior – and that controversial grille! – leaked on Instagram and Reddit. We’ve got them here.
Two days ahead of the GLC EV’s officially schedule global debut, images that reportedly show the new 2026 Mercedes undisguised have leaked on Instagram and Reddit. They show the blocky new light-up grille on the nose of a very smooth, jellybean-like crossover shape that, despite Mercedes’ insistence that it’s moving away from the EQ series’ design language, looks an awful lot like an EQ Mercedes.
Check out the leaked images from kindleauto’s Instagram account, below, and see if you agree with that assessment.
If you need to see more before you feel comfortable commenting on the new SUV’s looks, there’s a few more angles over on the r/mercedes_benz subreddit.
Leaked exterior pictures of the upcoming GLC EV
byu/Quick_Coyote_7649 inmercedes_benz
As with everything else on the internet, take those unofficial images with a grain of salt and maybe wait until the GLC EV’s official reveal in a few days’ time before casting your final vote on the new look – but there’s very little reason to believe the new Mercedes will look terribly different from what you see here.
Will the new grille and tech-forward interior with its massive, 39″ screen and MB.OS software be enough to turn the tide for Mercedes-Benz, enabling it to finally gain some traction in the electric crossover market? That remains to be seen, but the recently updated Tesla Model Y and crisply-styled new BMW iX3 with its 500 miles of range will make it an uphill battle, for sure.
We got a sneak peek at the new GLC back in July, when Mercedes-Benz Group CEO, Ola Källenius said that, “We’re not just introducing a new model – we’re electrifying our top seller.” Back then, we learned that the new GLC EV would have a wheelbase 3.1″ longer than the current ICE-powered model, as well as more head- and leg-room for its occupants and an extra 4.5 cubic feet (for 61.4 total) of cargo space.
Källenius also promised an innovative new 800V electric architecture and the latest battery tech, which will enable the electric GLC to add around 260 km (~160 miles) of WLTP range in just ten minutes thanks to more than 300 kW of charging capability.
SOURCES | IMAGES: kindleauto; Quick_Coyote_7649.
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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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