Realising the strategic importance of floating solar in Europe’s energy transition plans, REGlobal is organising the third edition of its Floating Solar in Europe conference on March 18-19, 2026, at Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Against this backdrop, Vincent Grumetz, Managing Director of the EMEA Business Unit, Ciel & Terre discusses the key drivers for floating solar in the European market as well as the major challenges with respect to regulatory landscape and financing.

Floating solar is witnessing rapid growth in Europe. What are the top reasons for this increase in traction?

The first aspect is the maturity of the technology. Although floating solar is still considered a new technology, there are several operational projects all over the world. This makes the technology a real contender for developing renewable energy.

Then, there is the question of reliability. The first floating solar projects were installed 15 years ago, and we can see that those power plants are still running and producing electricity. Thus, the technology is proven. Further, growth is also being driven by the price, and floating solar technology is becoming more competitive. For instance, the price of solar modules went down, and so did the capex of floating solar, thereby making this technology more profitable.

Do different markets in Europe have specific or dedicated regulatory provisions or policy frameworks for floating solar?

The main market in Europe right now is the Netherlands. Other markets like France, Italy, and Germany are growing step-by-step. There is no country except for Italy, where there is a bonus or a premium for floating solar. In other markets, floating solar is competing with ground mounted and rooftop solar projects, without any dedicated regulations or bonuses. Thus, we must be very competitive to make this technology viable in the market. Unfortunately, the local policy is quite different from one country to another in Europe.

However, there is a big potential for floating solar in Europe which is a key consideration. Developers are now getting more familiar with this technology, and there is a big interest for it.

The other consideration is often regarding the impact of floating solar on the quality of water and marine life. What is your take on this?

Various studies and surveys have been done on floating solar and its impact on water quality. There is more literature available now which helps immensely in technology adoption. For instance, the regulation is very strict in Germany and the floating solar project must be 40 meters from the shore and cover less than 15 per cent of the water body.

However, there is still some doubt about the impact of floating solar on marine life amongst different agencies. As more research is being done, we are now seeing that the feedback and experience is pretty good, which will help also to get more confidence in the floating solar space.

We must keep in mind that floating solar will be installed only on an artificial lake, and we do not want to deploy it on a natural lake. It is impossible from our point of view to deploy renewable energy and then have a negative impact on the environment itself.

What are your expectations from the upcoming Floating Solar in Europe conference in Amsterdam?

We started Ciel & Terre more than 15 years ago. We deployed the first projects in Asia, and we educated the market. Our goal is to show that floating solar is getting more mature, reliable, profitable, and it can help to deploy more clean energy.

Coming back to this conference, we want to share our experience, and catch the interest of any potential customers that want to go into floating solar.

What is the current financing landscape for floating solar projects in Europe?

Securing finance and insurance is quite difficult for these projects. However, this is not true for every project. Thus, it is very important for the customers to rely on a proven technology. After all, the floating solar structure could seem to be just a piece of plastic, but there is a lot of engineering as well as research and development to invest into developing the floating solar technology itself. One must also adapt and design the power plant according to the site specifications.

When it comes to financing there is significant due diligence involved, and one must rely on the right providers to be able to get it.