Engineers at Senvion are launching a study in the second quarter of 2017 to identify what technical modifications to the company’s 6.2M152 wind turbine are necessary ahead of its floating wind debut off France.
In July 2016, France officially approved the 24MW EolMed floating wind pilot project in the Gruissan area, some 15 kilometres off the Mediterranean coast, led by the French renewable energy developer Quadran.
The EolMed consortium also includes Ideol and its Damping Pool concrete floater, the civil engineering leader Bouygues Travaux Publics, and Senvion.
Ideol is a turnkey supplier of the foundation work package in partnership with Bouygues Travaux Publics, and Senvion was appointed to deliver four of its 6.2M152 turbines.
The wind farm is expected to be commissioned in 2020.
“For the pilot project, we are adapting our 6.2M152 turbine type specifically for use on a floating offshore foundation,” said Ranjit Mene , Senvion’s Head of Offshore Sales UK responsible for the “Floating Turbines” project.
“One challenge, for example, is heavy swell, which causes additional loads and movements to the turbine that have to be controlled. We also need a different tower. Precisely which technical modifications are required will be determined in the study that our engineers are launching in the second quarter.”
Throughout the process, Senvion said that it wants to work closely with the designers of the floating foundation.
The foundations of Senvion’s four test turbines will be anchored with cables, like pontoons, and float on the water.
“The cables must of course be extremely strong,” said Ranjit Mene, adding that “innovative composite materials are therefore under discussion.”
If the pilot project delivers on what it promises, it will open up fresh prospects for offshore power generation as it would be possible to install the floating turbines where the sea is deeper than 100 meters, Senvion said.