The development of Windsea is divided into phases. The first phase was validation of concept and the last is construction, installation and operation of a full scale pilot with a generator capacity of 3 x 3.6 MW.
Currently the WindSea project has terminated the concept validation, during which a wind and pool test has been conducted at FORCE Technology in Lyngby:
- Test performed in basin: The marine performance of the vessel, power production at different sea conditions as well as the ability to self orientating towards the wind.
- Test performed in wind tunnel: Power production including the effect of wake and turbulence.
The phase focused on overcoming some of the technical challenges connected with floating offshore wind turbines. The test results were positive, and the project moved on to the next phase, which focused on addressing and overcoming the remaining challenges.
Technical and financial challenges
Globally, there are today relatively few solid offshore wind turbines. ”Regularity has been a challenge, since not all technical problems connected with offshore wind turbines have been fully realised – such as wrecks and gear box problems.
Floating offshore wind turbines are also much more movable, which require much more of the equipment such as generators, gearboxes, etc. Furthermore, the choice of correct materials also plays an important role, as the risk of corrosion is much higher offshore than onshore”, states Henning Arnøy.
Moreover, it is much more cost-intensive to build, install and run a wind turbine offshore than onshore. It therefore poses a challenge to create a healthy economy for these solutions.
Development phases
The development phase began in Q1 2010 including further studies of the test results, concept development, optimisation as well as testing
The prototype phase includes detail engineering, fabrication, procurement, commissioning and installation of a prototype
After the installation of the prototype, there will be a test phase leading up to commercialisation of the WindSea system.
