An industry project funded by the Scottish government has qualified nylon as a low-cost material for permanent mooring lines at floating wind farms.
The programme, administered by the Carbon Trust, combined the efforts of nine European organisations including Ideol, TTI, DNV-GL, Bluewater and Lloyd’s Register.
The group was set up to qualify nylon through a rope testing plan so that the material can be deployed safely and certified for permanent moorings.
In comparison with expensive and heavy conventional chain-based mooring systems, nylon can be considered as a cost-effective solution in shallower water depths, Ideol and Lloyd’s Register said.
As part of the project, group members Vryhof, TenCate and the University of Exeter also developed textiles gravity anchor bags to stabilize wind turbines and anchor marine energy devices.
Image: Ideol
Nylon shows mooring potential
Study qualifies the material for permanent use on floating wind farms
By EBS