With the limited availability of land resources in urban areas and the increasing energy demands, there is a growing interest in exploring alternative renewable energy solutions in coastal regions. This study focused on the potential of utilising nearshore space by designing a micro-floating PV panel prototype and evaluating its performance under actual ocean conditions in Hong Kong. The primary objectives were to monitor photovoltaic generation and investigate the characteristics of the generation data while also assessing the environmental impact on the performance. For deck-on PVs, PV temperature significantly affects power generation. On clear days, peak PV temperature at noon can reduce generation by 5.8% despite a 39.9% increase in solar radiation. Ambient temperature and wind speed impact PV temperature, with a 6.8 °C increase reducing generation by 35% even with a 31.3% increase in radiation. The enclosed floater temperature was heated heavily due to the strong greenhouse effect under intense solar radiation. The open-circuit voltage showed a general correlation with PV generation. The simulation-experiment comparison identifies key factors impacting PV performance. Solar radiation and shade effects bring experimental uncertainty. Surroundings influence PV temperature, with barge radiative heating and floater conductive heating causing differences between experiments and simulations. Barge radiative heating is more significant, resulting in a 16.5% PV generation difference during the afternoon on a clear sky for deck-on PVs.