Continental Europe's First Floating Wind Farm

Source: · T&D WORLD · | January 25, 2021

The WindFloat Atlantic uses technology that expands on oil rig platform principles and applies them to offshore wind energy.

Source: EDP Renewables

In recent years, a number of countries have adopted offshore wind farms in view of their numerous advantages over onshore wind farms. Namely, their higher wind speeds, more prevalent wind conditions and reduction in land use. However, offshore wind farms are subject to disadvantages in the form of construction damage to the seabed and the need for costly subsea cable connections between each wind turbine and landfall.

Portugal has led the way in opting for a new approach to offshore wind farms. It developed the offshore WindFloat Atlantic (WFA) wind farm, considered to be continental Europe’s first offshore floating wind farm. This project offers a significant contribution toward achieving two of the 2020 climate and energy targets established by the European Renewable Energy Directive in 2018. This project is set to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and boost the development of renewable energy resources. 

Floating Platforms 

The WFA wind farm comprises three wind turbines supported by three semisubmersible floating structures, a design based on the WindFloat technology developed by Principle Power Inc. The technology expands on oil rig platform principles and applies them to offshore wind energy. Some main features set this technology apart: 

• It enables multimegawatt wind turbines to be installed at depths of greater than 50 m (164 ft).

• Each wind turbine operates on top of a floating platform moored to the seafloor by cables and chains, guaranteeing its stability.

• This system eliminates the need for the complex offshore operations involved in building traditional fixed structures, thus reducing its environmental impact.

• The platform and wind turbine are assembled at port and later towed to their final location.