SENSEWind has selected SM Industries (formerly Valmont) to produce a new type of floating wind turbine tower for its flagship 2MW onshore demonstration project.
The UK Government funded project will demonstrate the “first-of-its-kind” triple rail wind turbine tower.
The onshore project will be used to demonstrate and refine the Sense SET (Self-Erecting Tower) system and the Sense RNA (Rotor Nacelle Assembly) system.
The three rails incorporated into the tower structure enable the tower and rotor nacelle assembly to “self install”, saving on costs of using large cranes.
The project will be constructed later in 2023 with testing to run through late 2024.
This same technology will also be scaled for a 15MW floating offshore wind turbine as part of the BEIS project, with both systems expected to be ready for INTOG and ScotWind projects in the UK.
“SM Industries is one of the world’s leading and most experienced wind turbine tower manufacturers, so we are thrilled to welcome them as a key partner on the project,” said SENSEWind chair, Julian Brown.
“Working in collaboration with Aerotrope, a UK-based renewables engineering company, we look forward to SM Industries bringing Danish know-how and best-in-class insights to the tower design for serial production,” he added.
SM Industries’ Head of Project Development, Erhard Frederiksen, added: “We were thrilled when Sense Wind asked SM Industries to become a key partner in both maturing the new 2MW tower design as well as preparing it for serial manufacturing by making it as cost-effective in the supply chain as possible.
“Once commercialised (10-15MW), the scale of this ‘standard’ tower will fit our manufacturing capabilities perfectly.”