MHI Vestas has secured a firm order from WindPlus to supply three of its V164-8.4 MW turbines for the 25MW WindFloat Atlantic project situated near the coast of Northern Portugal.
Image: MHI Vestas to supply 8MW turbines for Portuguese offshore floating wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S.
Installed on floating foundation at sea, the three turbines will have a tip height of 190 meters. They will be installed on Principle Power’s triangular, semi-submersible WindFloat foundations and will be located 20km from the shore at a depth of 100 meters.
WindPlus is a consortium comprising of EDP Renewables from Portugal, Engie from France, Spanish energy group Repsol, and Mitsubishi and Chiyoda from Japan. The consortium has been formed to develop floating wind farm off the coast of Portugal.
MHI Vestas CEO Philippe Kavafyan said: “This firm order confirms MHI Vestas’ leadership in floating offshore wind. Building on our experience with WindPlus and Principle Power Inc. dating back to 2011, we’re particularly pleased that WindFloat Atlantic will feature three of our V164-8.4 MW turbines, the largest and most powerful turbines ever installed onto a floating platform.”
The WindFloat Atlantic project is expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 18,000 homes to Portugal. The consortium stated that investing in the wind farm will contribute towards learnings taken from the installation and commissioning techniques, turbine performance, foundation performance, main component interactions, and ultimately, power production.
MHI Vestas chief technology officer Torben Larsen said: “Our experience with the semi-submersible floating foundation thus far gives us great confidence in this project. With floating technology accelerating towards its full potential, this project will provide many critical insights that will be carried forward into future projects.”
The WindFloat Atlantic project is expected to enter into operations in 2019.
A few days ago, MHI Vestas secured an order to supply 90 of its V164-9.5 MW turbines for the 860MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm. The wind farm will be located 33km off the coast of Lincolnshire, in the North Sea, England.