Implementation of a 2MW Floating Wind Turbine Prototype Offshore Portugal

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the implementation of a 2MW floating wind turbineprototype installed offshore Portugal in October 2011. A commercially availableturbine has been fitted to a three-legged semi-submersible floating foundationwith a water-entrapment plate at each column base. Such technology enablesdeployment of multi-MW wind turbine generators at great distances from shore, in any water depth. Synergies with offshore oil and gas platforms have been exploited; howeverdeployment in an area with no previous offshore oil and gas activities has ledto unique challenges. This paper will expose the project management strategydeveloped to implement the project on a fast-track and with local contentrequirements. Results of the project after several months of operation will be presented, aswell as future plans to expand prototype testing into pre-commercial andcommercial activities. Introduction The offshore wind industry faces a number of significant challenges, including:–Financial challenges: as the world energy demand is on the rise, despiteeconomic downturns and emphasis placed on energy savings, well-establishedindustries based on fossil fuels have stepped in to satisfy increasing demand. Despite some assistance provided by governments, the renewable energy industryis, overall, unable to compete yet and economic pressures remain a criticalfactor hampering further development. Lowering the cost of offshore wind isessential to allowing this industry to thrive in the future.–Siting and permitting: finding the right location with both favorableenvironmental conditions, including good wind resources and seabedcharacteristics, and proximity to the grid, and overcoming regulatorychallenges to get projects underway have proven difficult in many cases. Environmental issues associated with the disruptions of the installation anddecommissioning processes and visual impact issues are significant. Theseproblems are expected to become more acute as the number of available primesites for wind farms diminishes with each new project. Recent years have seen a strong emphasis placed on developing floating offshorewind technologies. These are seen as able to overcome siting and permittingchallenges by providing access to huge areas of ocean space located furtherfrom the coasts, in deeper waters, where fixed foundation costs risedrastically. Although, at first glance, the financial challenges may appeargreater, the ability to considerably reduce the amount of offshore work usingthe technology described in this paper is a critical factor leading tosignificant overall cost reductions. This paper describes the implementation of a 2MW floating offshore wind systemprototype off the coast of Portugal. This project was designed to prove thetechnical and economical feasibility of floating offshore wind in southernEurope. It is based on the WindFloat concept, a three-column semi-submersibleplatform design with water-entrapment plates, for which technical qualificationwas documented in previous papers [1], [2].