Wind

Maersk delves deeper into floating wind with mooring deal for Spanish flagship

Project team assembled for second quarter installation of RWE-backed Saitec 2MW DemoSath pilot in Bay of Biscay off Bilboa

CGI of underwater view of Saitec Sath floating wind concept
CGI of underwater view of Saitec Sath floating wind conceptFoto: Saitec

Danish maritime contractor Maersk Supply Service (MSS) has landed the deal for installation of the innovative mooring technology for the RWE-backed Saitec DemoSath wind pilot off Spain, in the frame to be the country’s first grid-connected floating array.

MSS will be responsible for hook-up of a so-called single-point mooring – a system adapted from floating oil production and storage vessels that allows a unit to ‘weathervane’ with the wind – to a 2MW model of Saitec’s Sath design, set to be anchored off Bilbo in the second quarter.

“This is a significant contract for MSS, as floating wind is a cornerstone of our green strategy and transition to offshore renewables,” said Oliver Trouvé, MSS’ head of integrated solutions.”

DemoSath, a full-scale prototype of the Spanish engineer’s next-generation Sath (‘swing around twin hull’) floating wind concept, is the next phase of a step-wise development of the concrete platform technology could see a trio of 15MW units turning by 2025 as part of the Geroa (Green Energy Research for Offshore Atlantic) demonstrator project in Bay of Biscay.

Single-point mooring systems, designed for ‘plug-and-play’ connection and disconnection of floating units, reduce loads on the platform and help turbine yaw control in orientating the rotor plane against the wind.

The Spanish government in December rubber-stamped a plan to build as much as 3GW of floating wind off its coasts by 2030. The country has spawned a number of pioneers in the sector, including developer BlueFloat Energy and technology pioneer X1Wind, which recently saw buy-in from French oil & gas contractor Technip Energies.
Floating wind power’s global build-out this decade has been forecast by the Global Wind Energy Council to reach over 16GW – a figure given a boost last week with the award of offshore wind leases by the Scottish government in North Sea deep-water – though some analysts remain concerned outdated current government policy frameworks have the potential of limiting the sector to deploying as little as 5GW by 2030.
(Copyright)
Published 22 February 2022, 10:23Updated 22 February 2022, 10:23
SpainMaerskSaitecX1WindBlueFloat Energy