Global Assurance Leader Releases First Safety Standards for Floating Solar PV

In a move set to shape the technical future of marine renewable energy, DNV-the global independent energy expert and assurance provider-has published its first coordinated safety standards for floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems. The announcement, made on May 14, 2026, marks a critical milestone for a sector that is rapidly transitioning from niche applications to large-scale energy infrastructure. The two new standards are designed to improve safety, reliability, and long-term performance while supporting the rapid global growth of floating solar deployment.

There has been an increased deployment of Floating Solar in many inland and near shore bodies of water, as developers and governments explore alternative ways to grow their renewable energy capabilities while reducing the competition for land to build conventional solar energy facilities. The Floating Solar market is expected to grow from approximately $7.9 billion in 2026 to $9.2 billion by the end of 2035, representing an average annual growth rate of 1.7 percent. In addition, the total Global Floating Solar capacity is projected to exceed 77 GW by the end of 2033, with India, China, and Indonesia being the primary countries deploying these systems. As Floating Solar projects expand and more facilities come online, high levels of technical robustness and consistency in engineering practices have become critical to fostering investor confidence, obtaining insurance coverage and ensuring long-term viability of Floating Solar assets.

To date, the Floating Solar sector has yet to develop an industry wide sustainable technical standard that is globally recognized. As a result, engineers have applied adapted techniques from other disciplines, such as traditional solar PV installations or marine-related structures, to Floating Solar installations resulting in inconsistencies among designs (e.g. design safety margins) and materials used to construct Floating Solar installations. Such variations have created significant challenges for Floating Solar developers, insurers, regulatory bodies, and financial institutions as Floating Solar projects continue to grow with respect to size and complexity.

A comprehensive framework: two new standards plus updated guidance

DNV has released two new standards and is preparing an update to its existing recommended practice, together forming a comprehensive and aligned framework covering the full life cycle of FPV systems from component level to system level.

New standards have been developed, detailing the technical requirements for the structural design and Qualification of FPV float structures. The new standard provides technical requirements to define the structural design and Qualification of FPV float structures to provide both short-term and long-term performance. The new standard also features a flexible performance-based design approach to ensure that the engineering and testing requirements of FPV float structures are in alignment with the potential consequences of float failure; that is, it provides cost-effective, innovative solutions.

The standard defines, among other things, the safety classification of FPV floats; how they are to be used for design basis; how materials are to be qualified for FPV floats; structural design of FPV floats; tests of FPV floats; and protection from corrosion for FPV floats. Many of the design and performance requirements included in the new standard emphasize the use of non-metallic materials and their degradation due to solar irradiation, as floats are continuously exposed to ultraviolet radiation, temperature extremes and chemical interactions with water. FPV floats constructed using polyethylene and other polymeric materials can have significant property degradation through their operational design life, and the standard includes guidance on how to evaluate the durability of materials used to construct FPV floats under actual environmental conditions.

The second new standard provides principles and methodologies for the design of mooring and station-keeping systems used with floating solar applications. It presents design load recommendations, load combinations, and analysis procedures; as well as providing specific component and system configuration requirements to help mitigate the risk of failure of the station-keeping system.

The basis for risk assessment in this standard is a Failure Modes and Effects Criticality Analysis (FMECA), while safety factors have been calibrated through structural reliability analysis so as to achieve consistency between the method of building safety features and level of risk. The risk based framework will allow designers to correlate safety requirements to expected impact should a failure occur, preventing uniform overdesign while providing for appropriate margins of safety.

The two new standards are complemented by DNV-RP-0584, the world's first recommended practice on FPV, originally released in 2021 and scheduled for an update in June 2026. The RP brings together requirements, recommendations, and guidelines for the design, development, operation, and decommissioning of FPV systems. It is intended to apply across major global markets and focuses primarily on FPV systems in sheltered inland and near-shore water bodies, while explicitly defining the limits of applicability for harsher offshore environments where it serves only as general guidance or reference.

With the introduction of the two new standards, the existing RP has been repositioned as complementary system-level guidance rather than a primary design-level reference-a shift that reflects the sector's growing maturity.

The three documents employ aligned principles and terminology, providing industry stakeholders with a coherent and consistent set of guidance documents. "By creating a common technical language and a clear link between component-level requirements and system-level guidance, DNV is helping developers, owners, insurers, and regulators work from the same foundation," said Daniel Pardo Tovar, Global Lead for Floating Solar at DNV Energy Systems.

Ditlev Engel, CEO of Energy Systems at DNV, commented on the broader industry context: "Floating solar is moving from niche applications to large-scale infrastructure. These new standards are designed to help the industry manage risk, improve reliability, and enable innovation while maintaining appropriate safety margins."

The standards are expected to accelerate project financing by providing clear benchmarks for technical due diligence, reduce insurance costs through demonstrable adherence to recognized safety requirements, and facilitate cross-border technology transfer in a globalized supply chain. They also provide a foundation for regulatory frameworks that will govern floating solar installations worldwide. With the recommended practice scheduled for an update next month, the floating solar industry now has for the first time a complete, aligned set of safety standards and technical guidance-from material qualification to decommissioning, from component design to system-level risk management.