EDP Renewables' Asia Pacific renewables platform EDPR Sunseap will explore the use of 100% recycled plastic to make floating pontoons for its future floating solar PV projects in Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea, which will be supplied by Archwey's PlasticBean.
PlasticBean collects marine plastics, ocean-bound plastics, post-consumer waste or post-industrial waste from riverbanks and coastal areas from some of the most polluted regions globally. It then turns it into a thermoplastic material called Bluewave, thus saving this plastic from otherwise going into the oceans.
Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed, it will supply EDPR Sunseap with this '100% recycled and recyclable' Bluewave pellets to make floating pontoons to keep a solar farm afloat.
Cost of this recycled plastic will be similar to or lower than plastic made from virgin materials as crude oil, according to the 2 partners.
"Virgin plastic, made using oil, is one of the planet's biggest pollutants. Less than 9% of all plastic produced is recycled. 364 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated every year," said Archwey CEO Sjoerd Fauser. "Using recycled plastic rather than virgin plastic in the construction of renewable energy farms demonstrates conscious action and contribution to building a sustainable future."
As renewable energy demand grows globally to contribute to a decarbonized world, solar industry needs to become mindful of its own carbon footprint. Companies then should be looking at more such solutions and collaborations to bring it down where they can.
Headquartered in Singapore, EDPR Sunseap has over 800 MW installed and under construction solar PV capacity across 9 markets and claims to have a pipeline exceeding 6 GW, while its parent EDP Renewables counts its installed renewables capacity globally as 14.3 GW.
In July 2021, Sunseap Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority (BP Batam) to build the project, claiming it to be the 'largest' floating PV project in the world to-date. The $2 billion project was planned to comprise an energy storage system (ESS) with more than 4,000 MWh capacity (see World's 'Largest' Floating PV Project Planned In Indonesia).