The Anonymous Widower

France’s First And Only Operational Floating Wind Turbine Gets Lifetime Extension

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Floatgen, the demonstration floating wind turbine installed at the SEM-REV offshore test site in France, has completed its planned five-year run but will operate for another five years as the demo project was decided to get a lifetime extension.

These are the first three paragraphs.

The floater, which consists of a 2 MW Vestas V80 wind turbine mounted on BW Ideol’s Damping Pool foundation, reached electricity production milestones several times since going into full operation in September 2018.

According to BW Ideol, Floatgen’s cumulated production has now surpassed 30 GWh, which the company ascribes to “the hydrodynamic properties and excellent sea-keeping capabilities” of its floating foundation.

Floatgen’s availability averaged 92.18 per cent between January 2021 and January 2024, with December 2023 standing out with a monthly production record of 922.026 MWh and a 61.96 per cent capacity factor, BW Ideol says.

Note.

1. A three-year availability average of 92.18 % is surely very good.
2. A 61.96 % capacity factor is better than most other floating wind farms, which are generally in the fifties.

With those figures, I suspect BW Ideol will be expecting, some orders soon.

This video shows a Floatgen being constructed.

February 1, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Energy | BW Ideol, Floatgen, Floating Wind Power, France, Good Design, Offshore Wind Power, Wind Power