Die ersten Betriebsergebnisse der schwimmenden 2 MW Floatgen-Windkraftanlage, die mit dem schwimmenden Ideol-Fundament installiert wurden erfüllen die Erwartungen und übertreffen diese sogar.

(WK-intern) – Ideol’s floating wind turbine technology is fully validated and confirms its outstanding performance

The first operational results of the 2 MW Floatgen floating wind turbine, equipped with the Ideol floating foundation and installed on the Sem-Rev test site (Atlantic Coast of France), meet and even exceed expectations.

Ideol’s patented technology is now fully validated and ready for commercial-scale deployments.
During the first half of 2019, the floating wind turbine – which is also France’s first offshore wind turbine – produced a total of 2.2 GWh and faced significant wave heights up to 6.2 metres (waves up to 11.7 metres).

The progressive ramp-up of the full-scale demonstrator was carried out as per a carefully planned commissioning protocol initiated as soon as the demonstrator was put into service (September 2018). This technical validation was performed step-by-step, each time the demonstrator was facing specific combinations of wave and wind conditions at sea.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the wind turbine was operating and producing power during June 7th Miguel storm, when a combination of 4.4-metre significant wave height (waves up to 8.5 metres) and 22 m/s winds (with gusts up to 103 km/h) was observed.

The measurements acquired by more than one thousand sensors installed on all the components of the wind turbine and its substructure have been fully in line with the company’s initial simulations, hereby validating the accuracy of the models developed by Ideol’s engineers.

The progressive validation of the different combinations allowed to reach an average availability in excess of 90% during the second quarter of 2019 (68% for the first quarter) and should allow to reach the final targeted availability before the end of the year.

Such outstanding results were made possible by :

• the excellent seakeeping performance of Ideol’s patented Damping Pool ®
• the absence of impact of the movements induced by the floater on the power production as shown by a “better than on-shore” power curve;
• maintenance operations performed up to 2.3 metres of significant wave height thanks to the floater’s unique easy access design and low freeboard

Ideol’s technology, which is also being deployed on a second Japanese demonstrator that has faced three typhoons since its commissioning in September 2018, is thus fully validated and ready for future commercial farms tenders in France, Scotland, Japan and many other geographies.

Ideol, based in La Ciotat (France), was created in 2010 with the aim of developing both technically and economically viable floating foundation solutions for the offshore wind industry. Recipient of numerous innovation and entrepreneurship awards, the company benefits from the support of a large and prestigious panel of public and private investors. Its industry-changing and patented “Damping Pool”® design is compatible with all existing offshore wind turbines. Maximizing local content and optimizing the entire process from construction to installation, maintenance and decommissioning have been the company’s key priorities since day one. Its particularly cost-competitive solution allows for the development of projects without any water depth or soil constraints on sites benefiting from the best available wind resources. Benefiting from the experience and know-how of a fully integrated team of 60 experts and engineers coming from the offshore oil & gas and renewables industries, the company has two floating wind turbines in operation (one in France, off Le Croisic, and one in Japan, off Kitakyushu). Ideol is also involved in the French Mediterranean’s first floating offshore wind farm (the EOLMED project) as well as several other floating projects across the world, positioning the company as a leader in this fast-growing and accelerating market.

PR: Ideol

PB: Ideol’s floating wind turbine technology is fully validated and confirms its outstanding performance