SolarDuck has advanced the technology readiness underpinning the Corigliano project on multiple fronts. In July 2024, SolarDuck and RWE successfully installed the 0.5 MWp Merganser offshore floating solar pilot in the Dutch North Sea, 12 kilometres off the coast of Scheveningen. The platform, consisting of six interconnected semi-submersible units moored at 20 metres depth, is now being monitored by over 180 sensors tracking structural, mooring and electrical performance across a two-year campaign. SolarDuck also completed a separate tank test campaign at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands involving 54 interconnected platforms representing approximately 6 MWp of real-world capacity, producing data directly applicable to the commercial-scale Corigliano design. This offshore innovation is unfolding alongside rapid progress in Italy’s onshore solar buildout, including the newly launched Vizzini agrivoltaic project in Sicily, which has entered construction and is advancing toward becoming the country’s largest solar plant.
SolarDuck Broadens Its Strategic Scope Beyond Utility Solar
In March 2026, SolarDuck launched a dedicated Advisory Board to accelerate the integration of its offshore floating solar technology into the carbon capture and storage sector and wider subsea energy applications. The board comprises Neil Kavanagh, formerly Chief Scientist at Woodside Energy, and Tore Moe of Norwegian Energy Partners. The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Scottish wave energy firm Mocean Energy to develop hybrid offshore systems combining wave and floating solar power for remote offshore assets. These moves signal that SolarDuck is diversifying its technology applications while the Corigliano project continues through the Italian permitting process ahead of its 2028 commercial operation target.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Corigliano Hybrid Offshore Wind and Solar Farm
- Location: Gulf of Taranto, off the coast of Corigliano-Rossano, Calabria, Italy (Ionian Sea)
- Developer/Owner: SolarDuck (technology lead), Green Arrow Capital (asset manager), New Developments s.r.l. (Italian developer)
- Total Cost/Value: Not disclosed
- Scale/Capacity: 540 MW total (420 MW floating offshore wind; 120 MW offshore floating solar)
- Construction Start: Not yet commenced (project in permitting)
- Expected Completion: 2028 (estimated commercial operation date)
- Funding/Financing: Green Arrow Capital Infrastructure of the Future Fund (GAIF)
- Current Status: Permitting phase; SolarDuck technology validated through North Sea pilot programme
- Key Milestone: Merganser 0.5 MWp pilot successfully installed in the Dutch North Sea in July 2024; MARIN tank test campaign completed with 54 interconnected platforms
Project Team
- SolarDuck — Offshore Floating Solar Technology Partner and Project Lead
- Green Arrow Capital — Asset Manager and Financier (via the Infrastructure of the Future Fund)
- New Developments s.r.l. — Italian Project Developer
- RWE — Strategic Technology Partner (Merganser North Sea pilot)
- Damen Shipyards — Platform Manufacturer and Parent Company of SolarDuck
- Mocean Energy — MoU Partner for Wave and Floating Solar Hybrid Systems
- Tokyu Land — Partner for SolarDuck Japan floating solar demonstration
- Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) — Regulatory and Permitting Authority
- Neil Kavanagh (formerly Woodside Energy) — Advisory Board Member, CCS Integration
- Tore Moe (Norwegian Energy Partners) — Advisory Board Member, CCS Integration
Reported 6th March 2024: Plans have been announced for the construction of Italy’s 540-megawatt (MW) hybrid offshore solar-floating wind farm in the Gulf of Taranto off the Calabrian coast of Corigliano-Rossano. The Corigliano hybrid floating project has been undertaken by SolarDuck, a Dutch-Norwegian offshore solar company. It is located off the country’s southern coast, in the Ionian Sea. Further, the hybrid offshore solar-floating wind farm will feature 420 MW of offshore wind and 120 MW of floating solar. It will have 28 floating wind turbines. The details on the turbine developers have yet to be released.
The Project Team
SolarDuck will be collaborating with Green Arrow Capital, an Italian Asset managing company and New Developments, an Italian developer. Italy’s government has taken steps to simplify requirements for offshore wind projects. Under the country’s national recovery and resilience plan, measures are underway to further simplify authorization procedures for renewable offshore plants. The Decree FER2 should introduce mechanisms to promote renewable energy projects including OFPV, SolarDuck said.
Details on Italy’s hybrid solar-floating wind farm
SolarDuck is a subsidy of Damen Shipyards, a major shipbuilder in the Netherlands. They have relied on the shipbuilder’s knowledge to design elevated solar platforms made of offshore-grade aluminum that sit 10 feet (3 meters) off the water to withstand rough waters. The elevation also reduces salt deposits on the solar panels. (Floating solar farms on lakes and ponds tend to sit directly on the water.) The design is said to allow photo-voltaic panels to be deployed in significant wave heights while ensuring a safe environment for access and maintenance staff.
“These cutting-edge infrastructures generate green energy contributing to sustainable energy transition and independence. Furthermore, they also demonstrate their complementarity to onshore installations, preserving precious land resources,” Green Arrow’s Founder and Chief Investment Officer Daniele Camponeschi said.
“With the current momentum, we believe this is a unique opportunity for the offshore renewable energy industry to help shape a favorable regulatory framework and facilitate the scaling of OFPV”, says SolarDuck CEO, Koen Burgers.
The World’s Largest floating offshore solar plant
Further, in collaboration with Germany-based RWE, SolarDuck is developing a 5 MW photovoltaic project in the North Sea off the Dutch coast. The European Union covered EUR 6.8 million of the EUR 8.4 million investment from its Horizon Europe scheme. Moreover, it would become the biggest offshore floating solar facility anywhere and be integrated with the OranjeWind offshore wind farm, at the Hollandse Kust West 7 site.
Additionally, SolarDuck is set to build an offshore photovoltaic unit near Tokyo, Japan’s first following funding worth EUR15 million. Companies are slowly turning to offshore platforms to generate energy given the limited landmass we have. The ocean takes up nearly 70% of the earth’s surface area and thus allows for larger wind turbines coupled with the higher wind speeds on seas which generate greater amounts of clean energy.
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