TEPCO Renewable Power (TEPCO RP), a subsidiary of Japan’s largest power company, has joined the TetraSpar floating wind demonstration project, alongside Shell, RWE, and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies
Assembly of a full-scale TetraSpar foundation was recently completed at Port of Grenaa in Denmark. The components were manufactured by Danish wind tower manufacturer Welcon, transported to Grenaa and assembled in October and November 2020.
Following launch of the foundation in 2021, a wind turbine will be mounted on it at the quayside using a land-based crane. From there, the combined structure will be towed to a test site in the North Sea, moored to the seabed with three anchor lines and connected to the grid.
The test site at the Marine Energy Test Centre (Metcentre) offshore Stavanger is approximately 10 km from shore in water depths of 200 m. The demonstration project will use a 3.6-MW direct drive offshore wind turbine supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. Commissioning is scheduled for mid-2021.
The TetraSpar foundation is a tetrahedral structure assembled from tubular steel components. The assembly process does not involve welding or other specialised processes. The project partners believe it has a number of advantages compared to other floating wind concepts, including the potential for leaner manufacturing, assembly, installation and lower material costs.
TEPCO RP president Seiichi Fubasami said, “We are very happy to participate in this ground-breaking project. The TetraSpar can be utilised in Japanese conditions and a supply chain can be established close to Japanese projects.”
TetraSpar Demonstrator chairman Henrik Stiesdal said he was excited to have TEPCO RP on board. “TEPCO brings valuable expertise to the project from its research into floating offshore wind and from the power sector in general.
“With TEPCO on board we can expand the scope of the demonstration project in several ways and add to the range of tests we plan to carry out. Completing assembly of our first full-scale foundation is a very important milestone for the consortium.”
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