How does floating wind technology work?
Very much like floating offshore oil and gas assets, we engineer site-specific floating platforms capable of withstanding the worst environmental conditions, allowing for optimal power production. If we do our job correctly, the turbine can produce clean energy for 25 years or more without risk of capsizing, drift, or sinkage.
Our solution is not based on existing oil and gas offshore platforms. It was developed from scratch to ensure we meet today’s challenges. These are: cost reduction, local content, low carbon footprint, compact dimensions, and shallow draught (the depth at which a platform sinks into the water) when fitted with tomorrow’s XXL wind turbines. We have subsequently invented and patented the Damping Pool©, a technology that ensures all these features while also guaranteeing seakeeping performance. The aim is to enable wind turbines to operate efficiently in accordance with the turbine manufacturers’ operational and technical envelope.
The Damping Pool© creates a piston effect within an opening at the centre of the floating platform. The vertical movement of the water column within that opening, moves in the opposite way of the water outside of the platform, allowing stabilization of the entire structure.