Floating platform for wind turbines at sea

The German energy supply company RWE and the Spanish engineering company Saitec will test together from 2021 a pilot project of a floating platform for wind turbines at sea on the Basque coast, which will also be partially financed by the German.

Both companies reported that the capacity of the DemoSATH concrete platform will be 2 megawatts and that it will start operating in autumn 2021.

The RWE renewable and technology division in the Saitec Sea want, with this project, to reduce the costs of deep-sea and offshore wind farms.

The pilot project, called DemoSATH, is based on SATH's floating concrete technology, consisting of two helmets attached to a single point with a bearing which allows the platform to revolve around this point.

DemoSATH will be the second Saitec Offshore open water project for which it also provides design and management throughout the development life cycle.

The Spanish company also manages the operation, maintenance and processing of the data during the test phase.

The deployment of a model on the coast of Santander is planned for April this year.

CHARACTERISTICS

• The SATH floating technology has a semi-submersible structure of prestressed concrete and a single mooring point, which reduces construction and maintenance costs.
• The 2 megawatt wind turbine and structure will be assembled at the port of Bilbao.
• The base of the structure will be approximately 30 meters wide and 64 meters long.
• The platform, including the turbine, will be towed to its mooring point in a test field 3 kilometers from the Basque Atlantic coast where the ocean is 85 meters deep at that point.