Floatgen achieves a total of 6 GWh of power production in 2019

During the second half of 2019, the floating wind turbine has more than doubled its power production in comparison with the first semester, to reach an annual total of 6 GWh. This number was achieved because of a time availability exceeding 94.6% in the second semester and an above average capacity factor.

During that same period, the wind turbine faced maximum wave heights of up to 12.5 meters (= significant waves of up to 6.5 meters), confirming the excellent performance and seakeeping of the Damping Pool® design, as well as the accuracy of integrated floating wind turbine simulations developed by Ideol’s in-house experts.

Such accuracy has been verified and validated by an independent third party (American Bureau of Shipping a.k.a. ABS) reviewing the load and movement measurements as well as the data processing methods used by Ideol. ABS also evaluated the fully coupled simulation tools used by Ideol, independently re-running a number of load cases and comparing the simulation results with the observed and processed measurements.

The wind turbine remained fully operational throughout these first winter months, producing power up to 5.5 meters of significant wave height and up to 24.2 m/s of wind speed, once again confirming the absence of the impact of the movements induced by the floater on the power production.

Ideol’s patented technology is now fully proven and ready for commercial deployment, even in severe environments, wherever they may be in the world.

The testing period of the floating wind turbine designed for this project will be financed partially within the FORESEA project and will enable analysis of:

• the impact of the floating wind turbine and its mooring system on the environment
• the quality and quantity of electricity produced by the wind turbine
• system performance
• exploitation and maintenance costs

Floatgen is installed on the SEM-REV since spring 2018.