France’s Bouygues Travaux Publics is expanding its range of infrastructure solutions for offshore wind farms with the exclusive acquisition of the OO-STAR floating foundation technology, owned by Floating Wind Solutions.
Bouygues Travaux Publics, which already owns the gravity-based foundation technology with the Fécamp offshore wind farm project, is exclusively acquiring this floating base technology.
OO-STAR is a patented semi-submersible wind turbine foundation concept, originally developed by Dr.techn. Olav Olsen and later transferred to Floating Wind Solutions (FWS), which Bouygues Travaux Publics has just acquired.
The hydrodynamic and structural behavior of the foundation is said to guarantee an optimal performance of the turbine and a high durability of the structure, allowing for greater efficiency.
Bouygues Travaux Publics and Dr.techn. Olav Olsen now intend to combine their engineering and construction expertise to optimize the design and implementation process of this technology, with the aim of providing an integrated, innovative and competitive solution for the floating offshore wind market. The semi-submersible concrete foundations will be mass-produced in a timely and cost-effective manner, the company said.
”This acquisition reflects Bouygues Travaux Publics’ ambition in the wind energy sector and confirms its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of its activities. This technology investment is an important step, as it gives us a significant technological advance to accompany the market more quickly in the necessary environmental transformation process,” said Philippe Amequin , CEO, Bouygues Travaux Publics.
This technology can be adapted to a wide range of marine environments, reducing the carbon footprint of wind farm infrastructures and lowering operating and maintenance costs, the company said.
”Dr.techn. Olav Olsen has more than 50 years expertise in developing infrastructure solutions in the oil and gas sectors and has been working for 10 years on the development of the OO-STAR technology. We are delighted to enter into this close partnership with Bouygues Travaux Publics and to support them in building competitive infrastructure solutions for the floating offshore wind market,” said Olav Weider, CEO, Dr.techn. Olav Olsen.