Spain is getting its first floating solar PV platform — or has just got it, actually. The 500 kW floating solar PV platform, developed by BlueNewables, just arrived at the Port of Valencia. The system is supposed to be very quick to manufacture and require little, simple maintenance. For now, this is going to be a pilot project in coordination with Spanish energy company Naturgy. It’s also just part of a larger floating PV project. “The platform, built at the San Enrique shipyard in Vigo, Galicia — a facility owned by the Marina Meridional Group — has been named Paiporta in recognition of the Valencian municipality affected by the 2024 Dana storm. It will be deployed outside the port’s southern breakwater, where the project’s testing phase will take place,” pv magazine shares. “The 500 kW catamaran-style unit is part of a project launched in March 2025 that includes two PhotoVoltaic-Bluenewables Offshore Solutions (PV bos) floating platforms with a combined capacity of 1 MW. The installation is expected to generate around 1,500 MWh of electricity per year. “The project aims to advance the development of floating PV platforms manufactured through industrialized, modular processes designed for future large-scale production. Each platform features a 64 m x 41 m deck and accommodates 600 solar modules.” Naturally, the whole thing is designed to survive and perform well in the open seas — or off the coast at least. The aim isn’t to be deployed just in the waters of Spain, but to become a widely used system around the world. The company also looks to lean on workforce resources from the Galician shipbuilding industry in order to scale up. Image courtesy of Port of Valencia. How does it compete on cost with other floating solar PV platforms? We have no idea, but we’ll keep an eye on the company and the technology and see what comes of it.