Experimental proof-of-concept of HelioSea: A novel marine floating photovoltaic device

Floating photovoltaic (FPV) plants have seen rapid growth during the last decade. Currently, the technological challenge lies in developing technology to transition from freshwater to the vast and untapped marine environment. This paper outlines the first experimental proof of concept of HelioSea, an innovative floating photovoltaic system. The device includes a pole-mounted solar platform with a double-axis tracker, supported by a tension-leg platform. A 1:30 scale model was tested at the wave basin of the University of Porto to assess its response to regular and irregular waves. In total, 27 regular wave tests were conducted to establish the Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) of the structure. The device showed a low amplitude response in all degrees of freedom for T