Floatgen Proves Its Mettle

Floatgen, the first offshore wind turbine installed offshore France, produced a total of 2.2GWh during the first half of 2019, thus exceeding expectations, according to Ideol.

Based on the first operational results, Ideol reported that the 2MW Floatgen met and exceeded all expectations and faced wave heights of up to 6.2m at the Sem-Rev test site.

According to the company, the results mean that Ideol’s floating foundation, known as the Damping Pool, is now fully validated and ready for commercial-scale deployment.

This technical validation was performed step-by-step, each time the turbine was facing specific combinations of wave and wind conditions.

The validation of the different combinations allowed to reach an average availability in excess of 90% during the second quarter of 2019, with 68% for the first quarter, and is expected to allow to reach the final targeted availability before the end of the year, Ideol reported.

Ideol emphasized that the acquired measurements have been fully in line with initial simulations, thereby validating the accuracy of the models developed by engineers.

Floatgen, which consists of a Vestas V80 turbine mounted on the Damping Pool, started delivering electricity to the French grid in September last year.

The project is a joint venture of Ideol, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Centrale Nantes engineering school, RSK Group, Zabala, the University of Stuttgart, and Fraunhofer IWES.