Offshore staff
LA CIOTAT, France — Velella is a new R&D project in France that aims to qualify various technologies and techniques for future commercial floating offshore wind projects.
The program, centered on the patented floating technology developed by BW Ideol, will run for four years.
One goal is to optimize the economic and environmental performance of the BW Ideol floater, particularly to suit the next generation wind turbines (>20 MW).
Another goal is deployment of mooring lines made from innovative materials as well as implementation of new underwater surveillance and inspection methods to further trim costs during operation.
The final main goal is to assess the socioeconomic impacts and structuring of the floating wind power sector.
Each innovation will be analyzed and assessed in terms of life-cycle analysis, recyclability and potential consequences on the marine environment.
Tests will be conducted at various sites and assets owned by the partner companies, including BW Ideol’s Floatgen wind turbine, which has been operating the past five years on Centrale Nantes’s SEM-REV test site off Le Croisic, western France.
The test site is now operated by the OPEN-C Foundation.
05.16.2023
