RAK to test floating solar island

SOLAR SYSTEM: RAK has pledged $5 million to build a prototype fo floating islands which could transform the development solar energy. (Getty Images)

Floating islands off the UAE coast could convert solar energy into electricity or hydrogen on a massive scale, the head of project under development in Ras Al Khaimah said on Wednesday.

The emirate has pledged $5 million to build a prototype for the huge solar panel-covered structures which could transform the development and utilisation of solar energy, said Thomas Hinderling, CEO of the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM).

The project will “gather a great deal of experience in a technology that is of enormous importance for the future energy supply of our planet”, Hinderling said.

With a 100-metre diameter, the prototype is a tenth of the size of the final product. It will include a thermal energy reservoir and will be able to supply energy 24 hours a day. Peak output will be one megawatt, with medium output estimated at 250 kilowatts.

The floating structure will enable the island to be easily turned to always face the sun, generating maximum power, Hinderling said.

To avoid having to connect the island to the mainland, the electricity could also be used to make hydrogen that could then be stored on the island before being shipped elsewhere.

"A floating infrastructure means a very low construction coast, There are no support structures to build", Hinderling said.

The facility depends on a number of conditions. There must be around 350 days a year of sunshine and it needs to sit somewhere between the tropics, near the equator, for optimal performance, making the coastal region of the UAE the ideal testing ground.

According to Hinderling, the biggest hurdle to the project will be the construction of the island itself.

It is still unknown how the infrastructure will react in high winds, he said, adding, "We have done simulations that have not revealed any problems, but it is not until we have tested in the real world that we will know if it works."

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