Bamboo platform brings 100 kW offshore solar to Yantai demo base

At CIMC Raffles’ offshore solar demonstration base in Yantai, a floating photovoltaic platform is being put to work above the water. The 100 kW Jilin No. 2 is designed to supply electricity to a hydrogen, ammonia and methanol demonstration project. CIMC Raffles claims the platform is the world’s first bamboo-based offshore floating photovoltaic platform.

The material is not untreated bamboo lashed into a raft. The platform uses third-generation “bamboo-wound” tubes and Sea Bamboo Pipe, a prestressed, fiber-reinforced wood-bamboo composite. The developers designed these components to combine mechanical strength and low weight with resistance to corrosion, a central challenge for structures exposed to seawater and harsh marine conditions.

Jilin No. 2 follows the 10 kW Jilin No. 1 experimental platform, commissioned in 2023. That earlier prototype measured 7 m x 7 m and weighed about 4 tons; it underwent towing, offshore installation and field testing at CIMC’s Yantai test base. The new platform raises installed photovoltaic capacity tenfold while enlarging its dimensions and load-bearing area.

So what, concretely? If the composite performs as intended offshore, developers could have another material option for floating solar structures, with the project partners targeting larger arrays and marine uses such as shipboard and marine piping.

The distance between a demonstration platform and industrial deployment remains visible. The partners describe Jilin No. 2 as a shift toward industrial production, but they still plan a megawatt-scale pilot and further work on standards, certification and engineering specifications. CIMC’s stated aim is to reduce the environmental footprint compared with steel and high-density polyethylene; no independent field assessment is cited here.