innogy SE, Shell and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies A/S (SOT) have signed an investment and cooperation agreement committing the partners to build a demonstration project using SOT’s ‘TetraSpar’ floating foundation concept.
Its modular layout consists of a tubular steel main structure with a suspended keel. It is expected to offer important competitive advantages over existing floating wind concepts, with the potential for leaner manufacturing, assembly and installation processes with lower material costs. The project has a budget of approximately €18 million.
Hans Bünting, COO Renewables of innogy SE, said: “These are exciting times. The floating offshore wind market is evolving but until now, floating foundations have been stubbornly expensive. This demonstration project will give us a better understanding of how the cost can be driven down. The industrialised approach of the TetraSpar design, combined with innogy’s experience in delivering offshore wind projects, will enable large-scale, cost-effective deployment of floating wind projects around the world.”
Dorine Bosman, VP Shell Wind Development, added: “This initiative could help to lower the cost of offshore wind energy while providing more options for development locations, giving access to higher wind speeds and deeper water depths. Building our offshore wind business is a key part of the Shell New Energies strategy. Investing in innovative projects such as TetraSpar gives us early access to a new technology that could help us become a leading player in this field.”
The demonstration project will use a 3.6MW Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) direct drive offshore wind turbine and is due to be deployed in 2019. It will be located approximately 10km from shore in water depths of 200m at the test site of the Marine Energy Test Centre (Metcentre) near Stavanger in Norway. The foundation will be manufactured and assembled in Denmark and the turbine will be installed in the port of Grenaa, from where it will be towed to site. At site the floating structure will be moored to the seabed with three anchor lines and connected to the electrical grid.
