Bluefield said it will advance a pipeline of utility-scale floating solar PV across the UK.
May 5, 2026
Having commissioned analysis that showed 40GW floating solar could be delivered in the UK by 2050, Bluefield Solar has launched a new business unit focused on the technology.
The utility-scale solar owner-operator launched the floating solar PV (FPV) business through its development arm and said it will now advance a pipeline of utility-scale FPV projects across the UK.
Bluefield commissioned analysis from independent consultancy CBI Economics that found that FPV is a “major growth area” for UK renewables. 
The company already owns and operates an FPV installation at the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir, which the largest floating solar plant in the UK, at 6.3MW, and said it sees FPV as a strategic complement to ground-mounted solar, offering rapid deployment and the ability to be co-located with industrial and water-treatment demand. 
The largest approved solar plant in the UK is a 40MW project by port operator Associated British Ports, which received planning permission shortly before Scottish tidal energy firm Nova Innovation announced it will install 400kW FPV on an artificial lake in Cheshire.
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Energy minister Michael Shanks commented on the report Bluefield commissioned, saying: “It’s time Britain stopped letting our solar potential float on by. 
“As this report shows, floating solar could generate the equivalent of around 11 gas power stations by 2040—cutting our dependence on volatile global gas markets we do not control.”
The report by CBI Economics found that, with the right policy environment, FPV could scale to 3.6GW by 2030, 18.3GW by 2040 and over 40GW by 2050. Bluefield noted that because reservoirs and similar managed water bodies are often located close to population centres, industrial clusters and AI growth zones, securing private-wire arrangements for high energy users to use energy generated by FPV plants can straightforward, sidestepping grid connection roadblocks.
Alongside the commercial and operational benefits for water companies and industrial users, CBI Economics also highlighted the environmental and system-level advantages that come with FPV.
These include improved drought resilience, because the floating arrays slow evaporation; reduced algal blooms; and, due to natural cooling from the water body, higher panel efficiency.
Aram Wood, appointed senior director of floating solar at Bluefield, said that to realise the potential of floating solar, “we need a policy framework that matches the urgency of the challenge,” but didn’t say what that framework might entail. 
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Floating solar projects are currently not eligible to bid for government support through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which provides income certainty for renewable energy projects. 
One of the government’s Solar Roadmap actions is to address the viability of including FPV in the mechanism. 
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Molly Green
Section Editor, Informa
Molly joined the team in 2024 and has led coverage on the UK sites. Now shifting to a more global view, Molly is interested in how legislation shapes market dynamics, covering the intersection of policy design, investment patterns, and energy transition pathways. 
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