The world’s first semi-submersible offshore wind farm produced more energy than expected in 2022. A success that will ensure the operation of more than 25,000 homes.
It is the result of the collaboration between EDPR, ENGIE, Repsol and Principle Power.
25 megawatts and great satisfaction
Located 20 km from the coast in the north of Portugal, the WindFloat Atlantic semi-submersible offshore wind farm gave a smile to its managers who noted a 5% increase in production compared to the previous year. The park, made up of three 8.4 MW Vesta wind turbines resting on semi-submersible pads, produced 78 gigawatt hours (GWh) which was used to power 25,000 homes.
Thanks to this production, which far exceeded expectations, nearly 33,000 tonnes of CO2 were not released into the atmosphere. In addition, the position of the wind turbines offers an annual availability of between 93 and 94%, which is really remarkable. That being said, operators continue to learn every day from this facility, which now serves as a model for many other such projects. WindFloat Atlantic’s project manager, José Pinheiro, reminds us in a recent press release:
” Each day of operation of WindFloat Atlantic is an additional day in the collection of knowledge. This is something very valuable and different when making projections for future commercial projects. Thanks to this accumulated experience, we will not only be able to make fewer mistakes, but also make optimizations and provide more benefits to those who will directly and indirectly benefit from our future offshore projects. […] »
Simplified operation and possible conversions
Located off Viana do Castelo, the WindFloat Atlantic park is connected to the mainland by a 20 km long cable. At the other end, there is a substation located in the town’s port, where operators receive information in real time. This allows them to identify problems very quickly, and therefore to correct part of them remotely. A valuable advantage, because the sea and weather conditions are far from always favorable to on-site intervention.
According to Principle Power, one of the companies involved, the WindFloat technology would be compatible with any of these offshore wind turbines and can be installed in waters deeper than 40 meters. A real argument, which is obviously in good place on the official website of the Californian company:
” The WindFloat has been specifically developed to achieve exceptional stability performance, while reducing structural weight and simplifying logistics during installation and operation. The pitch-free virtual performance […] allow the use of existing commercial offshore wind turbines […] with only minor changes to the control software. »
Source : Electrek
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