Windfloat Atlantic, a subsidiary of Ocean Winds, is continental Europe’s first large-scale floating wind farm, located 20 kilometers off the coast of Viana do Castello, Portugal, says an article published in Xinde Marine News.
A Breakthrough for offshore wind industry
The three SEMI Submersible Type units constructed by Principle Power and housing MHI Vestas turbines were accepted by the ABS Class Committee, making Windfloat Atlantic the world’s first classified offshore wind farm.
“It’s a historic first and, we believe, the first of many more to come. ABS has made a significant contribution both to this project and the development of offshore floating wind in Portugal. It underscores the potential of Class and industry working together for the safe adoption of new technologies. ABS has supported innovation in offshore energy since 1958. This landmark project underlines how we continue to support promising offshore technology more than 60 years later.”, said ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore, Matt Tremblay.
Jose Pinheiro, Ocean Winds Southern Europe BU Country Manager, said:
“The Windfloat Atlantic project is again showing its technology reliability. Having achieved formal ABS classification for the three floating platforms is, therefore, an important milestone for the project shareholders and also for the offshore floating wind industry,”
American Bureau Of Shipping
- ABS is the leading classification organization for floating offshore wind turbine foundations and design standards and concepts.
- In 2013, the ABS published the ABS Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Installations, which approved the first commercial-sized semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine.
- They were the first classification society to venture offshore, certifying the world’s first mobile offshore drilling unit in 1958 and the first jack-up, semisubmersible, drillship, FPSO, TLP, and spar.
The Windplus consortium, which includes Ocean Winds (a 50:50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE), Repsol, and Principle Power Inc., the project’s developer, sees this recent success as a turning point in their journey, which began with ABS’s support for the development of the 2MW Windfloat 1 in 2012.
With more large turbines exceeding 10 MW and research into shallow water moorings, floating technology may one day be a viable alternative to existing bottom-based technologies in intermediate water depths.
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Source : Xinde Marine News
