Since no long-term offshore solar installation exists to date, various unknowns are still present, creating a research gap.
For instance, floating structures will have some type of response to incoming waves.
This response is highly dependent on the design of the floating structure.
This response will have some effect on the insolation on offshore solar systems installed on floating structures, the scientists said.
Therefore, the researchers have developed a simulation tool that would allow an offshore system designer to assess this effect in order to minimize it and thus, optimize the energy yield of the system
The simulation tool was verified with an experimental setup that simulated sinusoidal wave responses, the researchers said.
The data and software presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
