EMEC release a National Floating Wind Test Centre white paper

National Floating Wind Test Site - White Paper

The white paper states the need for a dedicated ‘National Floating Wind Test Centre’ to fully prove floating technologies in metocean conditions that are truly representative of the locations into which they will be deployed. The paper compares 5-year average and 100-year storm event conditions at existing and proposed floating wind test sites across Europe with the metocean resources that project developers will face at typical ScotWind, INTOG, and Celtic Sea sites. This analysis shows that existing European sites are insufficiently energetic to be truly representative of commercial floating wind projects in UK waters. The authors argue that the UK needs its own dedicated floating wind test centre to adequately prove and de-risk floating wind technologies for project insurability and bankability. A dedicated test site will also help ensure that the UK captures and retains the innovation benefits and cements its leading position in the floating wind sector. EMEC has been investigating and examining options for a national floating wind test centre since early 2020 and has identified a specific site 20 km west of Orkney which it believes will be the perfect location. The site has ideal water-depths and seabed conditions, and consistent mean wind-speeds well in excess of 10 m/s. To progress the test site’s development EMEC has a 60 MW grid connection offer to connect the site into Orkney’s soon-to-be-connected 220 MW cable to the Scottish mainland and thus the UK national grid. Given timely investment, the site can be ready and energised in time to meet the needs of most planned floating offshore wind projects in UK waters. The concept design for the floating wind demonstration site has been supported by the Interreg North West Europe AFLOWT project which aims to accelerate market update of floating offshore wind technology.