The Anonymous Widower

US Floating Wind Platform Developer Issues RFI To Fabricators Worldwide

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

This is the sub-heading.

Aikido Technologies, which recently secured a spot at a Norwegian offshore demo site, has released an RFI for its 15 MW ‘AO60’ floating wind platform to offshore wind fabricators.

These are the first four paragraphs which add more details.

The California-based floating wind foundation developer said on social media that it had issued the RFI to more than ten “top-tier offshore wind fabricators from around the world”.

The RFI has been released in three separate packages, each tailored to a specific type of facility: one for standard offshore steel shops, one for tubular/jacket yards, and one for monopile/tower facilities.

“This is how we can build 1, 50 or 100 of these units with existing fabrication capabilities, with components that can be easily transported around the world for final assembly at a local port. No need for custom yards, custom vessels or custom ports”, Aikido Technologies said.

In May 2025, the company was allocated a slot for its AO60 platform at the Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway, where Aikido will deploy what it says is a first-of-its-kind 15 MW demonstration project.

As someone, who wrote project management computer systems for thirty years, I like Aikido’s plans and feel they would be well suited to the UK, where we have quite a few local ports, that would appear suitable for final assembly of the A060 platforms.

In Yarmouth Harbour To Be ‘Completed’ In £60m Project, I describe the expansion of the Port of Great Yarmouth.

These two paragraphs describe the work to be done.

Peel Ports said it would invest between £50m and £60m in Great Yarmouth’s Outer Harbour by developing the southern terminal, creating a roll-on roll-off (RORO) lift ramp and a large storage area.

Port director Richard Goffin said the construction work, which is set to begin in 2026, would “complete” the port as laid out in a business case in the early 2000s.

This image from Peel Ports Group shows how the Port of Great Yarmouth will look after the the proposed development.

As the Port of Great Yarmouth has a depth of ten metres it could be an ideal base for the assembly and maintenance of floating wind turbines.

August 12, 2025 Posted by | Energy, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Birds Collided with Floating Wind Turbine Offshore Norway During Two-Year Monitoring Campaign

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

This is the sub-heading.

Following over two years of ongoing monitoring, no bird collisions with the TetraSpar floating offshore wind turbine have been reported at the Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway.

These first three paragraphs give more details.

Since January 2022, the Norwegian company Spoor has mapped bird activity at the floating offshore wind turbine at METCentre, located about ten kilometres off the coast of Karmøy.

The extensive bird mapping is the first of its kind in Norway. The data collected provides a picture of which species pass by the turbines and how they move.

The cameras have captured over 21,000 bird passages since the monitoring began. The monitoring and analyses were conducted in collaboration with the Biodiversity Department at Multiconsult.

In Unique Study: Birds Avoid Wind Turbine Blades, I said this.

I must admit I’m not surprised, as I’ve landed a light aircraft many times with birds flying above the runway and I can’t remember ever hitting one. But I have seen several dive out of the way.

The two studies are both in Scandinavia, so are birds in that area genetically programmed to avoid wind turbine blades?

I found this page on BBC Science Focus, which is entitled How Many Birds Are Killed By Wind Turbines In The UK?

This was the first two paragraphs of the answer,

As wind energy has grown in popularity, reports of birds killed by wind turbines have become more common. Few studies have investigated the phenomenon, but estimates suggest that between 10,000 and 100,000 birds are killed by turbine blade strikes annually in the UK.

That’s a lot, but it’s worth noting that approximately 55 million birds are killed in the UK each year by domestic cats. Nevertheless, research suggests there may be ways to make wind turbines safer for wildlife. For example, a small-scale study in Norway found that painting one of the wind turbines blades black, reduced bird deaths by 70 per cent.

Perhaps British birds are more stupid than Scandinavian ones?

Or is it, that British moggies have learned to sit underneath wind turbines waiting for birds to fall out of the sky?

It looks like these are questions, that should be solved by more research.

October 24, 2024 Posted by | Energy, Environment, World | , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

15+ MW Floating Wind Turbines to Be Tested At Norway’s METCentre

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

This is the sub-heading.

Three companies have signed contracts with Norway’s Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) to test new technology aimed at reducing the costs of floating offshore wind by demonstrating floaters equipped with 15+ MW turbines.

These are the first two paragraphs.

According to Norwegian Offshore Wind, this is the turbine size that will be relevant for future floating offshore wind farms.

The test area is located just a few kilometres away from the Utsira Nord zone, where Norway’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm will be located.

This sounds like the sort of sensible test philosophy, that you’d expect from the Norwegians.

October 9, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , | Leave a comment

Aker Solutions To Pilot Floating-Wind Power Hub

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Aker Solutions.

This is the sub-heading.

Aker Solutions to pilot world’s first subsea power distribution system for floating offshore wind at Norway´s METCentre

These four paragraphs describe the system and explain how it works.

Note.

Aker Solutions has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with the Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway to pilot new subsea power system technology which has the potential to significantly reduce the costs and complexity of offshore wind farms. 

The project will see Aker Solutions provide new power transmission technology, Subsea Collector, for the METCentre’s offshore wind test area which today consists of two floating offshore wind turbines located 10 kilometers off the southwestern coast of Karmøy, Norway. The test area will expand to seven floating offshore wind turbines from 2026.

Subsea Collector provides an alternative solution to connect multiple wind turbines electrically in a star configuration instead of the traditional daisy chain pattern, allowing for more flexibility in offshore wind farm architecture and construction. The design also allows for reduced cable length per turbine and park, as well as less vessel time and installation costs. Initial findings support total cost savings on a 1GW floating wind farm of up to 10 percent.     

The main component parts of the Subsea Collector comprise a 66kV wet mate connection system provided by Benestad and subsea switchgear with supervisory control and data acquisition by subsea power and automation alliance partner, ABB. Installation will be carried out by Windstaller Alliance, an alliance between Aker Solutions, DeepOcean and Solstad Offshore. Aker Solutions will also provide the static export cable to shore.

Total cost savings of ten percent on any large project are not to be sneezed at.

I also feel that this sort of architecture will be ideal for a test centre, where configurations are probably changed more often.

January 3, 2024 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , | Leave a comment