Floating the Future of Offshore Wind

[kristopher]

Floating the Future of Offshore Wind
A disruptive technology from Principle Power set to sea in November; utility-scale wind’s future may have been aboard.


Photo courtesy of Principle Power

Disruptive technologies are like the weather: Lots of talk and little action. But Principle Power has a disruptive floating wind turbine technology and a prototype in the water generating electricity.

It's a “paradigm shift in the approach to offshore wind,” said Principle Power Chief Business Development Officer Craig Andrus, “because it opens up a footprint that right now is not available.”

Incumbent offshore wind technology is limited to fixed platforms and 50-meter depths, while it faces increased opposition because of environmental impacts. Principle Power’s WindFloat, Andrus said, resolves the depth limitation and “mitigates many of the issues and some of the risks.”

Because it is “structurally decoupled from the sea floor,” Andrus explained, “there are significantly reduced environmental impacts during deployment, little harm to the seabed, and, because of siting flexibility, negative visual impact can be eliminated.”

WindFloat, Andrus claimed, potentially opens...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/floating-the-future-of-offshore-wind/

[txlibdem]

1. Excellent post

This is great news; floating wind power would couple nicely with either the Siemens or GE gearless wind turbines.