Tata Power has partnered with Norway-based renewable energy technology company Ocean Sun to test a membrane-based floating solar system at its Mulshi reservoir in Maharashtra. The collaboration, announced on October 7, 2026, will involve a roughly 300 kWp pilot designed to assess how the technology performs under Indian operating conditions. The agreement was signed alongside the 2nd India-EFTA Prosperity Summit.
The pilot is notable because Ocean Sun's design differs fundamentally from the pontoon-based platforms commonly used in floating photovoltaic projects. Instead of mounting panels on interconnected plastic floats, the system places solar modules on a thin hydro-elastic membrane that floats directly on the water surface. The membrane-based architecture reduces the structural material required to support the modules and is designed to follow water movement.
The direct contact with the water surface is another distinguishing feature. Ocean Sun says the arrangement enables passive cooling of the photovoltaic modules, potentially improving energy yield by limiting operating temperatures. The company states that its technology can deliver 5% to 10% higher energy yield than equivalent land-based installations, although the Tata Power pilot will provide India-specific operating evidence rather than assuming those results will translate directly to the Mulshi site.
Tata Power will evaluate the system against conventional floating solar technology across energy generation, capacity utilization factor, installation method and duration, reliability, operations and maintenance requirements, capital cost and overall commercial viability. This makes the project more than a technology demonstration, as its results could determine whether the membrane architecture is technically and economically suitable for wider deployment in Indian reservoirs.
Ocean Sun's system also uses a different deployment philosophy. Its floaters can be assembled and prepared onshore before being moved to the installation location, while the company's product range is designed for applications ranging from sheltered reservoirs to more exposed water environments. Ocean Sun says its technology has been demonstrated through installations in eight countries and uses anchoring systems adapted to local water depth, wind, wave and current conditions.
The Maharashtra pilot comes as India explores a much larger floating solar opportunity. The National Institute of Solar Energy has estimated more than 102 GWp of floating solar potential across suitable water bodies. Tata Power's own assessment notes that Maharashtra has an estimated 16.28 GW of potential, making the state an important testing ground for technologies that can generate electricity without competing directly for land used by conventional ground-mounted solar projects.
Tata Power already has experience with large floating solar installations. Its 126 MW Omkareshwar project in Madhya Pradesh uses 213,460 bifacial glass-to-glass modules and covers about 260 hectares of reservoir surface. The project also incorporates specialized mooring, wave-breaker and cableway systems and is designed to reduce reservoir evaporation. The new Mulshi pilot therefore shifts the company's focus from scaling conventional floating PV to evaluating a fundamentally different floating platform architecture.
The collaboration also builds on earlier Indian interest in Ocean Sun's technology. In 2023, SJVN Green Energy signed an MoU with Ocean Sun to develop and finance a roughly 2 MW membrane-based floating solar pilot at a suitable Indian location. The Mulshi project consequently adds another Indian test case for the technology, with Tata Power focusing specifically on comparative performance and commercial viability under local conditions.
If the pilot demonstrates competitive generation, reliable anchoring, manageable maintenance and lower or comparable project costs, the membrane architecture could offer another route for expanding floating solar across reservoirs and other suitable water bodies. For Tata Power, the immediate objective is to establish those results through real-world data before considering broader deployment.