The 8.4 megawatt (MW) semi-submersible floating wind turbine is the first of three classed by ABS and designed by Principle Power housing MHI Vestas turbines that will make up for a total of 25 MWs of floating offshore wind power. The turbines are to be installed 20 km off the coast of Viana do Castello, Portugal.
Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS chairman, president and ceo, commented: “Floating turbines enable us to reach offshore wind resources in water that is too deep for conventional bottom-fixed turbines. It is breakthroughs such as this that will make a vital contribution to the global transition to clean energy.”
The project is developed by the Windplus consortium, which is jointly owned by EDP Renováveis, ENGIE, Repsol, and Principle Power, and is scheduled to go online at the end of 2019. Floating wind turbines are not subject to the depth restrictions for fixed structures.
“Large highly-efficient turbines reduce capital costs as well as operating costs, so the deployment of the world’s largest floating offshore turbine is a significant milestone in this emerging industry,” said Matt Tremblay, ABS senior vice president, Global Offshore.
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