Floating solar unit severely damaged at Banja floating solar plant, Albania
June 2021Published 16 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Banja floating solar plant on Banja reservoir, Albania
- Operator
- Statkraft
- Manufacturer
- Ocean Sun
- What
- Floating ring and membrane damaged, unit partly submerged
- Injuries
- None reported
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Ocean Sun, Statkraft
What happened
On 9 June 2021, shortly after starting commercial operations, the first floating solar unit at the Banja floating solar plant on the Banja reservoir in Albania, developed and operated by Statkraft, was severely damaged. The floating ring with its membrane and two connected barges was damaged and has since been partly submerged. The unit, built using floating solar technology supplied by Ocean Sun, comprised 1,536 solar panels with an installed capacity of 0.5MWp covering almost 4,000 square metres.
Salvage of the assets, including the solar panels, was launched immediately and work was under way to bring the damaged unit fully ashore. Statkraft and Ocean Sun said health, safety, security and environment aspects were the top priority throughout the operation, and that work to identify the root causes was proceeding in parallel with securing the collapsed ring. The developers did not disclose what the incident meant for the planned second phase, which envisaged three further floating units totalling 1.5MWp. No injuries were reported in the source.
Contributing factors
The source describes the event only as an undisclosed incident. No root cause had been released at the time of reporting and an investigation by the developers was ongoing.
Lessons learned
- Floating solar ring and membrane units can fail soon after service begins, so operators should inspect connections, moorings and seals in the first months.
- A partly submerged floating solar unit needs pre-planned salvage and containment steps to recover assets safely and limit reservoir pollution.
- Root cause work must run alongside immediate securing of the structure so lessons reach other sites using the same technology.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Root cause of the ring failure
- Impact on the planned second phase
- Cost of salvage and repairs
- Model and service age of the unit
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-16. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
