Enerwhere has awarded Ecocoast the mooring scope for the first floating photovoltaic solar farm in the Middle East. The plant is currently being installed by Enerwhere off Zaya Nurai Island in Abu Dhabi and will help further increase the share of renewable energy on the island. Ecocoast’s scope includes design, manufacture and installation of its Ecomoor anchoring solution, to secure the floating solar panel structure in place, while Enerwhere is taking care of the engineering, procurement and installation of the overall installation.
Enerwhere, a leading developer of mini-grids and temporary power solutions in the Middle East and Africa, has been providing 100% of the island’s electricity since 2016 from an innovative solar-hybrid mini-grid, successfully reducing both the cost and environmental impact of the power generation on the island.
Their new project is unique in several ways. It will be the first floating solar panel farm in the Middle East, and one of the first floating solar installations in an offshore, salt water environment in the world. Says Daniel Zywietz, CEO of Enerwhere: “Given the significant engineering challenges of safely installing and operating electrical generation equipment in a harsh and environmentally sensitive offshore environment, we identified Ecocoast as the perfect partner for this installation.”
Ecomoor, designed and manufactured by Ecocoast, is the next-generation of mooring systems. It promotes low maintenance, reduced manpower resources and sustainability. Because of the neutral buoyancy of the multi-layer mooring line, Ecomoor is always in a floating state and does not drag on the seabed, offering full protection to sensitive marine environments, such as seagrass meadows and coral reefs.
“We are pleased to collaborate with a like-minded company such as Enerwhere,” says Lachlan Jackson, Managing Director at Ecocoast. “Our mutual goal is to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to protect the environment, making our collaboration an ideal arrangement,” he added.
Ecocoast is committed to solving the world’s most pressing marine problems and creating a more pioneering marine industry through developing the next generation of pioneering solutions for a better marine environment. Ecocoast has been dedicated to this mission for the past 10 years, and will continue to lead an innovation culture by continuously setting new standards in marine solutions to make it easy for everyone to build and operate sustainably.