Ferrovial will manufacture and assemble the SATH floating platform of Saitec Offshore Technologies and RWE Renewables DemoSATH project.
The construction package will last 14 months and covers site preparation, concrete precasting, procurement of steel bulkheads and assembly of the floater along with management of the supply chain.
Work will start in November 2020 under strict health and safety rules to protect against Covid-19, and will create around 60 local jobs during the peak of the project.
The DemoSATH project will deploy the first multi-megawatt floating offshore wind turbine connected to the Spanish grid.
For the prototype, the structure and the 2MW wind turbine will be assembled in the port of Bilbao.
The base of the structure will be approximately 30 meters wide and approximately 64 meters long.
The platform, including the turbine, will be towed to its anchorage point in a test field 2 miles off the coast at a depth of 85 metres.
Hybrid mooring lines, composed by chains and fibre, anchored to the seabed will hold the floating body in position.
The unit is expected to go into operation early 2022.
RWE Renewables will finance part of the project costs and contribute its extensive experience as the second largest player in offshore wind globally, gaining access to the resulting findings in return.
Its chief operating officer for global offshore wind Sven Utermöhlen said: “We are pleased to see that the DemoSATH project is entering the manufacturing phase now and making good progress towards offshore installation in 2022.
“We see great potential for floating wind farms worldwide – especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, where this opens up attractive opportunities.
“As part of this large-scale demonstration project, we are gaining experience with an innovative concrete-based platform technology that will help us to position ourselves in this growth market.”
The SATH Technology floater is based on a twin hull, made of modularly prefabricated and subsequently braced concrete elements. It can align itself around a single point of mooring depending to the wind and wave direction.
Saitec Offshore Technologies chief technology officer David Carrascosa said: “Our ambition is to rapidly advance towards commercial production.
“DemoSATH is therefore not only proving the technical feasibility of the SATH technology, but is also demonstrating how these structures can be mass produced.
“Ferrovial is the perfect partner to rely on and to ensure we meet our objectives.”