Bureau Veritas has "approved in principle" a WindFloat floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) foundation essential to the WindFloat system.
The FOWT system, designed by US-based energy company, Principle Power, is a floating platform that supports a multi-megawatt wind turbine generator. For operation, it requires a ballasted floating platform which supports a multi-megawatt wind turbine generator.
"[FOWT technology] offers substantial advantages over fixed offshore wind turbines as the entire unit can be assembled ashore and FOWTs can be installed in deep water and areas with varied underwater landscapes," said Matthieu de Tugny, Senior Vice-President and Head of Offshore, Bureau Veritas.
The system is unmanned, with a platform moored with a three-line catenary mooring system. It is a three-column platform, equipped with a closed-loop ballast system to compensate for changes in mean wind velocity and direction.
A prototype WindFloat was deployed in Portugal, five kilometres off the coast of Aguçadoura, in 2011. To date the system has produced and delivered over 16GWh of electricity to the grid.
The second generation of WindFloat technology, addressed by the present Approval In Principle, is intended to be part of a pilot array of floating offshore wind turbines in the French Mediterranean sea.
For further information contact: Bureau Veritas, France