Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has selected Stiesdal Offshore’s TetraSub as the floating foundation technology for the 100MW Pentland floating offshore wind farm off the north coast of Scotland.
This Tetra concept, which was developed by Henrik Stiesdal, is the world’s first fully industrialised floating offshore technology offering a lightweight and cost-effective floating foundation made up of factory-made modules.
No manufacturing takes place at the quayside, instead these ready-made modules are assembled in ports using existing infrastructure to form a complete foundation, the developer said.
The process significantly reduces both manufacturing hours and transportation costs and enables assembly to take place domestically within local ports, they added.
Stiesdal’s tank testing work at University of Edinburgh’s exposed the TetraSub concept to conditions similar to those found at many floating offshore wind sites such as Pentland. The tests are ideal to assess robustness, reliability and effectiveness.
The project team has been working closely with Scottish Enterprise via its Scottish Development International and Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service teams and DeepWind Offshore Wind cluster to introduce Scottish companies for supply opportunities at all levels.
Once constructed Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm (PFOWF) is estimated to provide enough green energy for almost 70,000 homes per year, approximately 65% of those in the Highland Council area.
The project expects to install the first unit in 2025 and be fully operational by 2026 and the developers recently submitted its offshore consent application to Marine Scotland.
Speaking ahead of the Floating Offshore Wind UK 2022 conference in Aberdeen where the project is exhibiting, project director Richard Copeland said: “The objectives of Pentland are to demonstrate new floating wind technologies which will enable industrialisation, develop local supply chains and reduce costs, allowing deployment of floating offshore wind in the UK and globally at scale.
“For us, the Stiesdal Offshore Tetrasub concept ticks all of these boxes.”
“Stiesdal’s previous work is already providing valuable lessons for industry and Pentland through initiatives such as their world-leading FloWave research facility.
“The results of this testing confirmed the technology as one which was an ideal fit for the needs of the project.”
Stiesdal Offshore chief executive officer Peder Riis Nickelsen said: “We are delighted that the TetraSub technology has been selected by Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm.
“This project will support us to meet market demands for low-cost and fast deployment of floating wind technology, advancing the next generation of floating offshore wind turbines with capacity of 14 MW and more.
“We look forward to working with the Pentland team to deliver this exciting world-leading development.”
Scottish Enterprise director of economic opportunities and climate Suzanne Sosna said: “Floating offshore wind presents huge potential not only for Scotland’s economy, but for companies the length and breadth of the country to take advantage of significant manufacturing and supply chain opportunities.
“Scottish Enterprise continues to support the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm, and this announcement marks an important milestone for the project’s development.
“As the ScotWind leasing announcement earlier this year demonstrated, Scotland can lead the way in floating offshore wind.
“We look forward to working with developers, manufacturers and industry partners to maximise future opportunities and showcase Scotland’s unique global strengths in this sector.”