Principle Power has unveiled two new semisubmersible floating wind foundation designs: the WindFloat TC (tubular, center column) and WindFloat FC (flat-panel, center column).
The new designs are natural evolutions of the existing WindFloat® technologies that combines proven features to support a wind turbine located on a column in the center of the platform.
Designed to complement the existing perimeter column designs—WindFloat T and WindFloat F—the new solutions share the same 4th generation design heritage and benefits such as a Smart Hull Trim system to maximize annual energy production and reduce loads; fatigue-resilient architecture optimized for large wind turbines; compact footprint and shallow wind turbine integration draft for maximum compatibility with infrastructure; and modular “block” subcomponent philosophy for high flexibility and compatibility with existing supply chains.
Wind turbines are growing larger, and manufacturers are increasingly focused on standardization of their products for floating wind. The availability of both perimeter column and center column designs means that the WindFloat portfolio delivers market leading cost, weight, and performance for any wind turbine available on the market.
Julian Arrillaga Costa, Chief Executive Officer said: “The outlook for floating wind is strong and as the market enters a ‘commercial’ era, wind turbine suppliers are now thinking about how to position their products for maximum standardization across the floating pipeline. With this in mind, we’ve developed WindFloat center column designs that are optimized for 15 MW+ turbines with stiffer towers.
“By expanding the WindFloat portfolio with these designs, we’re demonstrating how we can apply our proven expertise in floating wind with our known and de-risked technical features to achieve center column geometries that are bankable and immediately ready for commercial scale projects.”
As a natural evolution from the WindFloat product line, the new WindFloat TC and WindFloat FC designs benefit from Principle Power’s 13-year operational track record and allow for similar, industrialized assembly methods leveraging the same supply chains—a critical component in the scale-up of floating wind worldwide.
Aaron Smith, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of New Business and Innovation said: “Principle Power’s mission is to be able to offer cost-optimal and bankable solutions for any wind turbine at any location in the world. Our longstanding collaboration with wind turbine manufacturers have provided us with the opportunity to establish center column designs that we are confident will be the most competitive in the market.
“Over the past year, our technology and engineering teams have worked tirelessly to de-risk and optimize our new center column designs using our multidisciplinary and full lifecycle product development process. Our ongoing customer projects featuring these designs are showing excellent performance and driving major reductions in levelized cost of energy, demonstrating once again the value of Principle Power’s field-proven experience.”
The full WindFloat product portfolio, now consisting of the WindFloat F, WindFloat T, WindFloat FC and WindFloat TC, offers developers industrialized, FEED-ready solutions for any floating wind project, with any metocean condition, any wind turbine model, and any supply chain preference.
