U.K. Approves Largest Floating Solar at Barrow Dock

• Barrow EnergyDock wins approval: ABP’s 40 MW floating solar at Cavendish Dock will power port operations, boost summer yields, protect wildlife, and pioneer replicable, grid-savvy, modular clean energy.

Westmorland and Furness Council’s Strategic Planning Committee approved Associated British Ports’ Barrow EnergyDock, a floating solar array of up to 40 MWp on Cavendish Dock in Cumbria. The project will deploy roughly 47,000 panels on pontoons, covering about a third of the dock, with wildlife-friendly design, careful anchoring and navigation-safety measures.

Floating PV promises higher summer yields from water cooling and places generation beside port loads—reefers, warehouses and shore power—cutting losses and easing grid constraints. ABP plans modular build-out, plant-level active/reactive controls, and recycling pathways, positioning Barrow as a template to replicate across ports if performance and O&M meet expectations.

How will Barrow EnergyDock’s floating PV integrate with port loads and grid constraints?

• Connect behind-the-meter at medium voltage via a dedicated floating-to-shore cable and quay-side substation, feeding priority circuits (reefers, warehouses, cranes, shore-power berths) before any export.
  
• Use a port-wide energy management system to forecast PV output and match it with berth schedules, crane cycles, cold-store defrosts, HVAC pre-cooling, and EV/yard equipment charging to absorb midday peaks.
  
• Align shore-power windows with high irradiance periods where feasible; offer incentive tariffs for vessels that plug in during PV-rich slots.
  
• Implement flexible connection with the DNO (e.g., active network management with export caps that vary by grid conditions), automatically curtailing or shifting loads to respect real-time headroom at the point of common coupling.
  
• Inverter-based volt/var and power factor control to hold voltage within limits, reduce reverse power flows, support local reactive demand from motors/VFDs, and help stabilize the PCC during ramp events.
  
• Fast curtailment logic and ramp-rate limits to keep within agreed export ceilings and minimize nuisance trips on ENA G99 protections; fault-ride-through settings coordinated with the DNO.
  
• Optional battery integration to soak excess PV, smooth ramps from cloud transients, provide frequency response, and maintain critical port operations during grid constraints or scheduled outages.
  
• Smart charging for port EVs and electric RTGs/straddle carriers, with load shifting to midday PV and throttling during grid-constrained hours.
  
• Harmonic mitigation via inverter functions and filters, countering distortion from large variable-speed drives on cranes and pumps while meeting power quality codes.
  
• Phased, modular roll-out with switchgear bays and transformer capacity added in steps, matching growing shore-power demand and avoiding premature grid reinforcement.
  
• Operational forecasting (weather, tides/berthing, cargo plans) to schedule flexible loads and optimize import/export positions day-ahead and intra-day.
  
• Provision for limited islanded operation to support essential services (navigation aids, security, critical refrigeration) during outages, subject to protection and regulatory approval.
  
• Data-sharing and constraint signals via the DNO’s control platform to enable dynamic export limits and participation in flexibility markets, monetizing turn-down/turn-up when the local network is constrained.