The €1m initiative with Scotland’s University of Strathclyde and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult will promote the offshore wind farms installation in areas that are presently not considered feasible due to water depths.
Work under the project will involve designing a floating wind turbine model and innovative installation system, which will be installed at several sites with water depth ranging between 60m and 100m.
Tensioned cables will be utilised to moor the foundations to the seabed in order to limit the movement of the platform.
Construction costs will be reduced by optimising the dimensions and weight of the steel used in the platforms.
Iberdrola plans to apply its experience it acquired in the past four years in Spain in Ocean Líder and Flottek R&D projects.
The TLPWIND initiative has been included in the Infrastructure for Offshore Renewables Collaborative R&D projects programme co-funded by Innovate UK, which intends to optimise the offshore renewables sector supply chain by promoting R&D projects.
Iberdrola said the new initiative is further proof of its commitment to offshore wind energy sector, in which it is developing major projects to construct new facilities mostly in the UK, Germany and France and working on improving its technology with R&D studies.
Image: The TLPWIND project intends to create a highly reliable model for offshore wind farms that will allow to drastically shorten installation times and cut costs. Photo: Courtesy of Iberdrola, S.A.
