Ocean Sun has signed an agreement to license its proprietary floating solar technology to the developer Sunneng Technology for the construction of a 1 MWp FPV pilot in Yantai, in the Province of Shandong, China. The project is fully funded by String Capital, a Beijing based energy investment fund.

“We are pleased to enter this license agreement, which we hope will be the first of many in the Chinese market. China is today perhaps the most important market for floating solar and this first nearshore demonstration system will create the local awareness and qualification for future utility-scale installations on seawater. Further, we are pleased to have entered an agreement with internationally reputable partners supporting our interests in the country” – Says Børge Bjørneklett, CEO and founder of Ocean Sun.

“After a year of close discussions, we are ready to start the construction of our Ocean Sun pilot project. Sunneng expects this cooperation to be both long term and rewarding for the involved parties.” – Says Zhang Hui, CEO and founder of Sunneng Technology.

Ocean Sun has been present in China since 2018 and established a Chinese subsidiary in 2020. With approximately 70% of the global installed floating solar capacity to date, China is by far the world’s largest market for floating solar. There are several utility-scale deployments in the country already, so far on benign waters such as lakes, irrigation dams and on flooded quarries and mines. In addition, China has a strong drive to replace fossil energy production and the regulatory process is quick and effective. This makes China one of Ocean Sun’s most important markets going forward.

The project will be located a few hundred meters from shore close to the city of Yantai, and construction is planned to begin later this year. The local conditions are well suited for the Ocean Sun solution, with sea conditions comparable with that of Norway. With support from the Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone, there will be substantial potential for utility-scale projects in the future.