SCALEWIND to test larger floating wind turbine at METCentre
Odfjell Oceanwind has secured a 24-MW capacity grid connection slot at Norway’s Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre).
The company’s SCALEWIND project is targeting installation of a full-scale floating offshore wind turbine in 2028. The plan is to demonstrate all components associated with a utility-scale offshore wind park.
These include an ultra-large wind turbine generator, the Deepsea Star semisubmersible steel foundation, mooring system, dynamic cables, and the subsea infrastructure for receiving and delivering the power to the onshore grid.
Odfjell Oceanwind also aims to work with METCentre to progress engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the seabed infrastructure, which will be shared between the SCALEWIND project and potentially other future demonstrator ventures at the METCentre.
Odfjell Oceanwind CEO Per Lund said, “The largest floating offshore turbine deployed so far is 9.5 MW, whilst the Utsira Nord [in the North Sea] and other utility scale projects are expected to use turbines with more than twice that capacity. By deploying a single unit with relevant technology early, we will demonstrate to key stakeholders, like developers, investors, banks, insurance companies, certification agencies and authorities, that the technology is timely, reliable and available before much wider commitments are needed for the larger projects to come.
“This project will also offer valuable learnings for the supply chain and demonstrate many aspects of industrialization, before scaling to larger commercial projects. This reduces risk, time and cost for everyone involved, and will represent a much-needed step towards making floating offshore wind relevant in the energy mix.”
SCALEWIND will be an alliance of various companies interested in enabling utility-scale floating offshore wind.
The Deepsea Star column-stabilized semisubmersible steel foundation for floating offshore wind has been designed based on the Odfjell Group’s experiences operating similar technologies in offshore drilling.
It has been developed for 15-MW+ wind turbine generators in harsh and benign environments and in compliance with DNVs standards for floating offshore wind units.
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