Floating offshore wind

“The 20kV dynamic cable will allow us to fully validate the floater and wind turbine performance, feeding the electricity to PLOCAN’s smart grid, as well as transmitting data through its fiber optic connection,” explains X1 Wind’s Electrical Engineering Manager, Adrian Oliva.

With the tradewinds now blowing strong in the Canary Islands until mid-September, the Barcelona-headquartered firm will wait for a suitable weather window to complete the towing and hook-up of the prototype.

X1 Wind’s technology offers a unique approach to floating wind. The prototype is fitted with a turbine in a downwind configuration, enabling the structure to weathervane and orientate passively to maximize energy yields. It drives greater structural efficiency with a light and flexible design, which further supports future mass production at a lower cost. The platform uses a Tension Leg Platform (TLP) mooring system which reduces the platform and cable dynamic motions, minimizes the footprint on the seabed, and enables installation in deep waters.

A strong collaboration with international and local supply chain partners including Noatum Logistics, Hengtong, Trames, Ditrel Industrial, Electrimega, Partnerplast and Gateway, has been instrumental in the successful installation of the dynamic cable.

Supported by four million EUR from the European Commission H2020 Program, with a consortium coordinated by X1 Wind, PivotBuoy aims to substantially reduce the current Levelized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE) of floating wind.