On day 1, after an overview of the MEA and AFLOWT projects by Central Nantes and EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre), the morning sessions comprised information training sessions with presentations on "How can offshore renewables contribute to the energy transition" by FARWIND and introductive training "Discover the offshore renewable technologies" by Innosea. Both presentations sparked insightful questions and discussions.
After lunch on day 1 there were updates by the AFLOWT project partners on the developments related to the Saipem Hexafloat technology and the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS) off the north-west Atlantic coast of Ireland and the Mistral test site off the south-east Mediterranean coast of France.
Saipem provided a presentation of the Hexafloat floating foundation technology, including its main features and status of development. In particular, an update on the prototype testing of the Hexafloat technology by the Italian research centre Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR) in Naples was given to the audience, as well as a technical presentation of the full-scale demonstrator to be installed on Mistral test site.
There was an update on the environmental impact assessment progress for the consent application for floating offshore wind at AMETS and a recent (June 23rd) public consultation day. The EIAR (Environmental Impact Assessment Review) Scoping report for the environmental impact assessment that is to accompany the request for consent for floating offshore wind at AMETS is now in a 3-month consultation phase with statutory and non-statutory consultees. A request for a foreshore licence for site investigation works to collect benthic data is now awaiting a ministerial determination having gone through a period of public consultation.
Open-C presented on the Mistral test site describing the site attributes and updated that while the site has a generic permit for floating offshore wind grid connection works are still required.
The next afternoon session was a useful departure from the usual project focus comprising keynote speeches from investors and accelerators GO Capital, BPGO, Atlanpole, Centrale Nantes/Audencia/ENSA incubator.
Day 1 ended with an energetic format of lively pitch sessions from offshore renewables start-ups and SME’s (Akrocéan, D-ICE Engineering, Dublin Offshore, ELWAVE, FARWIND, FEBUS Optics, Finsulate, Inyanga, Lhyfe)
There was a lot of excitement on Day 2 about the offshore visit by boat, with the SEM-REV team to their test site just of Le Croisic on France’s Atlantic coast. The delegation departed from Nantes by bus to Le Croisic, from there a boat trip brought everyone up close to the FLOATGEN floating wind turbine currently deployed in the SEM-REV site and to the near-by Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm.
SEM-REV was the first grid connected European site for multi-technology offshore testing. It has all the equipment - offshore and on land - to develop, test, and improve energy recovery systems (mainly from wind and wave sources). It is a 1 km2 designated maritime zone, 20 km off the coast from Le Croisic, fully equipped to measure sea and weather conditions (wind, swell, and local parameters) and clearly marked out by cardinal buoys.
Saint Nazaire is France’s first offshore wind farm, 12 km off the coast of the Guérande peninsula in the Loire-Atlantique department. Launched in 2019, the installation work is in progress, and the entire offshore wind farm is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 2022.
Several things were striking about the visit including how on a beautiful clear sunny summer day identifying the location of both the fixed and floating turbines was not a simple task to the naked eye! Especially, with other boats and sail boats on the water. Having heard about the size and weight of the devices the previous day, this part is something that must be seen to be believed (check out the photo gallery at the end of this blog).
At the SEM-REV site the stability of the FLOATGEN device in the water was impressive and in contrast to the motion of the Innovation Tour boat.
Hearing about the 24 hour 7 days a week operation for the installation of the fixed offshore wind farm turbines at a rate of 1 turbine per day in the Saint Nazaire wind farm was a stand-out piece of information. It brough into focus the potential for floating offshore wind in terms of turbine installation and resource use and disruption to the local environment at the site.
Passing by some of the sea salt marshes in Guérande en-route to Le Croisic it was striking how this area has a long history of extracting value from the sea and that its salt production is an integral part of the on-shore landscape. Now the area is to the forefront of extracting wind energy from the same sea.
Check out the following photos from the Innovation Tour and see for yourself the visibility of the turbines from shore and the floating offshore wind device up close.
For more information on the SEM-REV site visit sem-rev.ec-nantes.fr/english-version/sem-rev
For more information on the AFLOWT project visit www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/aflowt-accelerating-market-uptake-of-floating-offshore-wind-technology/