TotalEnergies Tests Floating Wind Turbines

TotalEnergies has launched a floating wind turbine pilot project that will supply renewable power to Culzean offshore platform in the UK North Sea. The V112 3-MW Vestas floating wind turbine will be located 1.2 miles (2 km) west of the Culzean platform, 136 miles (220 km) off the eastern coast of Scotland. Expected to be fully operational in 2025, the floating wind turbine will supply around 20% of Culzean’s power requirement.

The turbine will be installed on a modular, light semi-submersible floater hull designed by Ocergy. Ocergy’s OCG-Wind is a four-column semi-submersible floating platform specifically designed for large wind turbines. The centrally located turbine minimizes constrains brought by large wind turbines: The turbine weight is shared among all columns, which reduces the water depth requirement at quayside, and minimizes the need for ballasting operations to trim the platform between lifts. Additionally, the destabilizing yaw moment is considerably reduced. This decreases the potential for yaw oscillations leading to improved turbine performance and reduced requirements on the station-keeping system, the company said.

“This innovative pilot project aims at proving the concept of hybridization of power generation on an offshore facility, by integrating the generation of renewable electricity from a floating wind turbine with the existing power generation from gas turbines,” said Marie-Noelle Semeria, chief technology officer at TotalEnergies. “It also aims at qualifying a promising floater design for the future of floating offshore wind.”