The Anonymous Widower

Scotland’s Floating Wind Farm

This article on the BBC is entitled World’s first floating wind farm emerges off coast of Scotland.

In the early 1970s, I worked on a unique concept for a reusable oil platform called a Balaena.

I wrote about using a Balaena for a wind turbine in Could a Balaena-Like Structure Be Used As a Wind Power Platform?.

There is also a brief description of the idea in The Balaena Lives.

I have a strong feeling that revisiting all of the work done for a Balaena over forty years ago, could enable a better way to build a floating wind farm.

I would build my Baleana-based floating wind-power turbine like this.

• A steel cylinder is built, which will form the tower, horizontally in a dry dock.
• It is floated out horizontally to some very deep water perhaps in a fjord.
• It is then raised to a vertical position by letting a calculated amount of sea water into the tank.
• It will float vertically, if the weight profile is right and by adjusting water levels in the tank, the top can be raised on lowered.
• The tower is adjusted to a convenient height and the turbine is placed on the top.
• It would then be towed vertically into position.

Note that Balaenas were designed to sit on the sea-bed using a skirt and a gum-boot principle to hold them to the bottom, with extra anchors and steel ropes.

July 24, 2017 - Posted by AnonW | World | Balaena, Engineering, Wind Power