Pilot floating wind turbine projects show positive results and they may soon become a cost and energy effective solution in areas lacking the appropriate geological conditions for the construction of conventional offshore wind farms.
Five km off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal, a pilot project, known as the WindFloat Atlantic project, is being tested under plans set out in November 2015. The project is planned to be operational in 2018 and will consist of 3 or 4 wind turbines on floating foundations, accounting for a total capacity of 25 MW. The project is led by a consortium of companies including French gas and power group Engie, Portugal’s EDP Renewables (EDPR), Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and Chiyoda Corp, along with Spanish energy group Repsol. According to the consortium, the aim of the project is to demonstrate the economic potential and reliability of this technology, advancing it further in the path towards commercialisation.
Stainless steel plays a vital role in wind power generation. On an average 80% of all the materials used to construct a wind turbine is stainless steel. The main advantage of generating energy from wind turbines is that the technology emits no C02.
