The renewables arm of Germany's RWE and Spanish engineering company Saitec Offshore Technologies partnered to test new ways to affordably install and operate offshore wind farms in deep waters, RWE announced on Monday.
The partners will start testing a floating platform for wind turbines off the Basque Coast in northern Spain next year in a joint pilot project called “DemoSATH”.
'The objective of the project is to collect data and gain real-life knowledge from the construction, operation and maintenance of the unit,' the statement read.
The pilot project will last 3.5 years, of which 18 months are designated for plant planning and construction, followed by a two-year operating phase.
”We see great potential for floating wind farms worldwide. Especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, this opens up attractive opportunities,' RWE Renewables CEO Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath was quoted as saying.
Saitec Offshore’s COO Luis Gonzalez-Pinto also stressed the immense potential of SATH to reduce the cost of floating wind.
The plant is expected to start operating in the third quarter of 2021. The electricity generated during the project will be fed into the Spanish power grid.
By Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr