Lasted edited by Andrew Munsey, updated on June 15, 2016 at 12:41 am.
Directory of technologies, companies, and resources relating to off-shore, floating platform wind power systems.
Wind Power That Floats - Several companies are on their way to demonstrating off-shore, floating platform wind power systems by borrowing heavily from oil and gas offshore platform technology. (MIT Technology Review April 2, 2008)
Wind, out of the Blue - If Fortune 500 companies like Norsk Hydro (now StatoilHydro) and Siemens haven't deployed a single floating prototype in six years and predict a 10-15 year wait for viability, it's quite a stretch to imagine that Blue H could install a 120-turbine, billion-dollar wind farm 45 miles off New Bedford now, qualifying it as an "alternative" to Cape Wind. (CapeCodToday April 4, 2008).
REpower FOR DOWNViND - (Distant Offshore Windfarms with No Visual Impact in Deepwater), aims to understand the impact of deepwater wind farms, prove the deepwater wind farm concept, share learnings across the industry and pioneer unobtrusive deepwater wind farms. (Beatrice Windfarm demonstrator project Feb 2, 2005)
European Offshore Wind Conference 2007 Status Report - The project has achieved a number of major successes, notably:
First 5MW turbine deployed offshore
First application of jacket substructure in offshore wind
First onshore assembly of tower turbine and blades
First offshore installation from a floating vessel
Successful development of safe access system
Comprehensive environmental research programme
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(2.04 Minutes) Hywind
(YouTube July 4, 2007)
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(.28 Minutes) Sway
Wind Power SWAY (Part of HyWind Project) (YouTube May 12, 2008)
First floating wind turbine buoyed off NorwayFirst floating wind turbine buoyed off Norway - Siemens and energy company StatoilHydro installed the first large-scale floating turbine. The testing is expected to last for two years. The Hywind turbine will still have a ballast that is tied to the sea floor with cables. Wires will transfer the electricity produced to the mainland grid starting in July. (CNet June 12, 2009)
World's first floating wind farm to be built in North Sea - Siemens has teamed up with a Norwegian energy group, Norsk Hydro, to install a wind farm in the middle of the North Sea, beginning with one test unit in under two years, ending with 200 turbines by 2014. The turbines would access the strong off-shore winds, and would not be visible from land. (The Independent UK June 27, 2007)
Update: Norsk Hydro no longer is involved in Offshore hydro development and became part of Statoil to do aluminum manufacturing only. StatoilHydro is their replacement for the HyWind project
Floating Wind Turbines - Captures off-shore winds, while sparing expense of footing. Norwegian utility expects production prototype in 2007. (http://hydro.com)
Deep-sea oil rigs inspire MIT designs for giant wind turbines - Oil rig floatation technology adapted for off-shore wind turbines, enabling deployment in the higher winds, and out of view of the on-shore horizon. (PESN Sept. 22, 2006)
Floating offshore wind energy and hydrogen fuel generating company tipping to Europe or Asia - Inventor Tom L. Lee, Ph.D. has developed a floating wind turbine platform concept for accessing the higher winds out at sea, and converting wind energy efficiently to hydrogen and electricity. Would prefer to license its manufacture and distribution to a U.S. party. (PESN Oct. 31, 2006)
VersaBuoy Sea Platforms - New system is 1/2 the cost of existing deepwater oil platforms and is modular, opening many new possibilities, including off-shore wind and wave energy harnessing.
Offshore Wind at an Affordable Price - Blue H Submerged Deepwater Platform technology is adapted from floating platforms developed by the oil industry, to support a tower and a wind turbine. Their wind farms would be so far from shore as to be virtually invisible, where the winds are stronger and are more constant. (EcoGeek Dec. 6, 2007)
Proposal could calm storm over wind farm - In December, Blue H launched the world's first floating turbine, an 80-kilowatt demonstration project off the coast of southern Italy. Soon, the turbine will be moved about 10 miles offshore to water more than 350 feet deep. (Boston Globe March 15, 2008)
Floating wind farm proposed off Vineyard relies on unproven technology - Blue H wants to build 120 floating wind turbines in deep water 23 miles off Martha’s Vineyard and sought government approval to install a test turbine. (Cape Wind March 15, 2008)
Deep-Water Wind: Out of Sight - Sway is developing a deepwater system that will allow turbines to be situated farther out to sea where winds can be steadier and stronger, hidden from all save a few passing ships. It is based on a floating elongated pole extending far below the water surface with ballast at the bottom part. (EcoGeek Feb. 25, 2008)
Update: Statoil now owns Sway as part of the HyWind project.
Norway considers floating windmills - Giant turbines the size of jumbo jets bobbing on the North Sea may soon become as common off Norway as oil and gas platforms. (Globe & Mail April 29, 2008)
Directory:HeliWind - The HeliWind design by the Hawaii Consulting Group replaces the blades and tower of a conventional wind turbine with a lighter-than-air helical balloon and lowers the generator to the ground. With generating costs expected at around $0.034/kW-hr, the design is expected to go into production in June 2011. (PESWiki July 6, 2008)
Directory:Wind > Directory:Wind:Offshore > Directory:Wind:Floating > Researchers study feasibility of giant deep-ocean wind turbines - A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is studying the feasibility of placing large wind turbines on deep-ocean platforms. The research, which combines sophisticated computer simulations and water tank studies using physical models, may point the way toward an environmentally friendly source of energy that could potentially fill a significant portion of the electricity needs of 26 U.S. coastal states. (PhysOrg April 28, 2010)