Floating Wind Turbine Prototype Ready for Installation

X1 Wind has laid the dynamic cable for its PivotBuoy floating offshore wind turbine prototype, which is now ready to be installed at the PLOCAN test site off the Canary Islands.

The voltage was increased to 20kV with a transformer, to allow the connection to PLOCAN’s smart grid with the 1.4 kilometre-long dynamic cable which will be connected to the platform via a connector supplied by Ditrel.

Once connected, the 20kV dynamic cable will feed electricity to PLOCAN’s smart grid, as well as transmit data through its fiber optic connection.

Compared to catenary systems, the Tension Leg Platform (TLP) mooring system should reduce motions and loads on the cable which is important for reducing fatigue and extending the lifetime of the component, X1 Wind said.

The installation of the dynamic cable was carried out with the support of X1 Wind’s international and local supply chain partners including Noatum Logistics, Hengtong, Trames, Ditrel Industrial, Electrimega, Partnerplast, and Gateway.

The X30 prototype will be installed at a location with water depths of 50 metres through a single-point mooring system in a downwind configuration.

Fitted with a specially adapted V29 Vestas turbine, X1 Wind’s ‘downwind’ system is able to ‘weathervane’ and orientate passively with the wind to maximise energy yields, the Barcelona-based start-up said.

The X30 prototype was fully assembled in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in October 2021.

With the trade winds now blowing strong in the Canary Islands until mid-September, X1 Wind will wait for a suitable weather window to complete the towing and hook-up of the prototype, the company said.

“All components have successfully been tested at port, and the prototype is now ready to be installed in the next suitable weather window. Once installed, we will be monitoring the platform in real-time with multiple sensors integrated in our in-house SCADA system“, said Adrian Oliva, Electrical Engineering Manager at X1 Wind.

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