Irish Floating Wind Tech Developer Unveils Pilot Project in Portugal

April 4, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

Dublin-based floating wind technology company Gazelle Wind Power (Gazelle) has partnered with the Portuguese renewable energy developer WAM Horizon to accelerate the development of a pilot project in Aguçadoura, Portugal, which will use Gazelle’s floating wind platform.

Within the partnership, WAM will provide Gazelle with strategic advisory to implement the pilot project.

“WAM Horizon has exceptional offshore wind experience in the region, making them an ideal partner to support Gazelle’s project and help position our one-of-a-kind platform as the benchmark solution for floating offshore platforms”, said Gazelle’s CEO Jon Salazar.

WAM Horizon has been involved in the offshore wind sector for a while and has supported the 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic floating wind project. The company is the holding company of WAM Investments, the former owner of the Portuguese wind tower and foundation manufacturer ASM Industries, which was acquired by South Korea’s CS Wind in 2022.

Gazelle’s technology is based on a hybrid floating wind platform with a dynamic mooring system, which splits the ‘two classical functions’ of buoyancy and stability for a lighter and more agile platform than the current market designs, according to its developer, and boasts the advantage of faster deployment in deeper waters.

According to information the Irish company shared earlier, Gazelle plans to install a 2 MW pilot wind turbine at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) test site offshore Spain this year.

Gazelle has partnered with several industry players to advance the implementation of its floating platform system, including memoranda of understanding signed with VCE, Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group, and Maersk Supply Service.

In 2022, the company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ferrofab FZE, a UAE-based engineering and manufacturing firm, to establish a Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the Ferrofab Jebel Ali facility in Dubai.

Last year, Gazelle Wind Power received results from basin model tests that were conducted on its hybrid modular floating offshore wind platform at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute – University of Cantabria facilities in Spain.

The main results from the tests, based on the 10 MW floating offshore wind turbine, confirmed the developer’s main principles – including the main physical principles behind the platform design.