RWE Renewables and Saitec Offshore Technologies have joined forces to test new ways to affordably install and operate floating offshore wind farms in deep waters.
The companies have set up a joint pilot project called DemoSATH that will start testing a floating platform for wind turbines off the Basque Coast in 2021.
SATH technology is based on a twin hull made of modularly prefabricated and braced concrete elements.
The float can align itself around a single point of mooring according to the wind and wave direction, the partners said.
The aim of the project is to collect data and gain real-life knowledge from the construction, operation and maintenance of the unit.
The pilot project will last three-and-a-half years with 18 months for the planning and construction of the plant, followed by a two-year operating phase.
RWE Renewables will finance part of the project costs, which will also test safe and efficient solutions for vessel accessibility to the platform and for the replacement of large components as well as other technological options for floating offshore wind.
Saitec Offshore Technologies is providing the design, project management, operation, maintenance and data treatment during the testing.
In April, a scaled 1:6 model will be deployed off the coast of Santander, the partners said.
A prototype with a 2MW turbine will be assembled later at the port of Bilbao and then towed to its anchorage point in a test field three km off the coast in 85-metre deep water.
Hybrid mooring lines, composed by chains and fibre, anchored to the seabed will hold the structure in position.
The plant is expected to go into operation in the third quarter of 2021, with the electricity generated fed into the Spanish power grid.
RWE Renewables chief executive Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath said: “We see great potential for floating wind farms worldwide. Especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, this opens up attractive opportunities.
“With DemoSATH, we are gaining experience with an innovative concrete-based platform technology that will help us to position ourselves in this growth market.”
Saitec Offshore chief operating officer Luis Gonzalez-Pinto said: “The potentiality of SATH to reduce the cost of floating wind is immense. Now is time to build and operate this floating wind turbine and widen this exciting market.
“This is an agreement between a well-established player in offshore wind, and a young innovative company. We are confident that this combination can provide massive gains for both parties.”