Iberdrola is to lead an international consortium to install an over 10MW floating turbine in Norway.
The Norwegian project, known as “FLAGSHIP”, will see the design, fabrication, installation and operation of a demonstration floating offshore wind turbine using a 10MW-plus turbine and a semi-submersible floating concrete structure, the OO-Star Wind Floater.
It will be tested in the North Sea, at the Met Centre located in Norway. The international consortium includes Core-Marine, Cener, IHC and Zabala Innovation Consulting in Spain, French EDF, Danish DTU and DNV-GL in Germany.
FLAGSHIP is being developed as part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.
The main objective of the FLAGSHIP project is to help reduce the Levelised Cost of Energy for floating offshore wind to a range of between 40-60€/MWh by 2030.
Iberdrola hopes to sign a grant agreement worth approximately €25 million with the “Innovation and Networks Executive Agency” of the European Commission during the second half of 2020.
Fabrication of the floating platform could start in the second quarter of 2021, with installation in first quarter 2022.
The Spanish multinational is also close to joining a further demonstration project in Spain.
Specific details will be finalised and published this year, but the project aims to utilise a different technology to that planned in Norway, and would see fabrication undertaken in the Basque Country, with deployment in waters around the Canary Islands or in the Basque Country.
Iberdrola global managing director for offshore wind Jonathan Cole said: “Iberdrola aims to be a leading player in the floating offshore wind sector, and the demonstration projects that we are developing will ensure we are ready for engaging in large-scale commercial floating wind projects in the near future.
“There is tremendous potential globally for floating technology, as it will open up new markets where water conditions restrict the development of traditional offshore projects. We are not tied to any one technology, and we have had a team actively analysing all developments in the sector for many years.
“Now is the right time to move from research and development in to putting turbines in the water and increasing our knowledge.”
Iberdrola is undertaking studies to analyse the possibility of installing additional floating wind turbines at some of its existing project sites and the company is “actively interested” in processes for large scale floating offshore wind projects in different locations such as the US and Scotland.