Floating wind major Simply Blue and EPC firm Archirodon tie up for Greek opportunity
The Irish developer with 10GW pipeline has formed a joint venture with Dutch offshore construction firm to leverage Hellenic nation's 2.6GW target
Irish floating wind developer Simply Blue will tie up with Dutch offshore construction firm Archirodon to unleash gigascale floating wind growth in the Greek Aegean Sea, the companies announced today.
The new joint venture (JV), ArcoBlue, aims to leverage opportunities created by floating wind goals set last year by Greece for 2.6GW.
“The potential for wind energy in Greece is significant, especially for floating wind given the technical characteristics of Greek Waters,” said Sam Roch-Perks, group CEO.
“With a strong naval and maritime heritage and world-class supply chain facilities, Greece can become a hub for floating wind in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe,” he added.
Cork-based Simply Blue has rapidly emerged in recent years as one of the world’s most ambitious floating wind specialists, with a 10GW pipeline of projects off its home market and the UK that include partnerships with the likes of Orsted, Shell and TotalEnergies, and development plans in the US, Sweden and Iberia.
The developer launched another JV with European oil giant Eni-owned Plenitude to build out a giga-scale pipeline of floating wind projects off Italy, starting with a pair of deepwater arrays in the Ionian Sea totalling some 2.4GW.
Archirodon is leveraging its experience in offshore petroleum development to position itself for the burgeoning offshore wind sector. It aims to take multiple roles from development and EPC [engineering, procurement, and construction] up to O&M [operations and maintenance].
“In line with our strategic focus on more sustainable energy sources, we are expanding our expertise in the field with dedicated resources and partnerships, while actively seeking new challenging projects,” said Dennis Karapiperis, Archirodon CEO.
“Our combined expertise and experience will effectively support Greece's energy transition.”
The waters of the Aegean Sea separating Greece from Turkey extend to 2,639 metres, necessitating the use of floating wind platforms.