OEEC: Saitec’s Disruptive Approach to Offshore Wind Turbines

With just a few days to go before the annual Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference kicks off with a bang – or rather with a gala dinner – we are now presenting you Saitec Offshore, one of 11 companies to present at the event’s brand new start-up zone.

Saitec Offshore, a spin-off from SAITEC Engineering, is a Spanish engineering company working on the development of a cost-effective floating wind farm solution SATH (Swinging Around Twin Hull).

Offshore Energy Today spoke with David Carrascosa, the Chief Technology Officer, to learn more on what Saitec Offshore is all about.

Carrascosa said: “Saitec Offshore has developed SATH©, an innovative Floating Offshore Wind Solution with the aim of meeting the current Offshore Wind Market main requirement of reducing costs. Its unique design and the use of concrete as main construction material lead to a competitive LCOE.”

According to the CTO, Saitec has a disruptive approach to floating offshore wind combining lessons learned from the oil & gas field together with a strong background in civil engineering.

“Saitec’s multidisciplinary team works day by day to ensure the competitiveness and technical reliability of SATH© Floating Solution,” Carrascosa said.

Apart from the conventional renewable energy companies, Saitec also sees opportunity in the fact that big players in the offshore energy market are now focusing in offshore wind to diversify their portfolio and even completely changing their activity from oil & gas to purely marine renewables – take Dong Energy for example.

The Danish company has recently completed the exit from the oil and gas industry to focus on offshore wind, and has even changed its name to make sure it is no longer associated with the oil and gas industry.

Carrascosa says: “Floating offshore wind in particular has great synergies with O&G as a great percentage of the value chain is coincident. However, the market is still looking for a truly competitive technology and this is actually the focus of Saitec Offshore Technologies in the development of SATH© technology aiming to be the most competitive solution from 40m depth onwards.”

Unique feature

Energy Research Center of the Netherlands has recently taken a closer look into Saitec’s floating turbine concept. Here is what they said:

“Perhaps the most  unique feature of SAITEC’s solution is the single point mooring. Two twin concrete hulls are fastened to a single mooring point with a bearing. It allows the platform to swing around this point,” ECN found.

ECN calculated that connecting to one single point shortens the installation time and makes it easier and cheaper to bring back the turbine to harbour for replacement of large components.

“Another cost and time reduction lies in the fact that all platform and turbine equipment is assembled at the harbour. This reduces offshore operations to a minimum. Also, the use of concrete instead of steel has positive impact on the maintenance costs because effects such as corrosion will not occur,” ECN said.

Cost competitive

During the upcoming Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference, Saitec Offshore will be aiming to attract both big players and newcomers to the field.

The company’s CTO said everyone will be welcomed to the company’s stand and “we are open to all kind of collaboration opportunities with any company involved or willing to be involved in the offshore wind adventure.”

“We want people to get convinced about the fact that floating offshore wind is not a costly solution to be implemented in the long term but a cost-competitive and risk-reducer technology for the near future,” Carrascosa ended.

To learn more about Saitec Offshore and its floating wind solution, follow the link www.saitec-offshore.com

This article was originally posted by our sister site Offshore Energy Today.