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DemoSATH completes offshore mooring installation

By: Tom Russell 17/05/2022 Saitec Offshore Technologies

Foundations General Windfarms

The DemoSATH mooring, anchoring and quick connect solution is set for the 2MW turbine that will be tested later this year and which will be the first floating turbine connected to the Spanish grid.

In early May, Maersk Supply Service completed the installation of six mooring lines (hybrid lines of chain and fibre rope) and six drag anchors with Maersk Mariner. The mobilisation and loading of the mooring lines elements and preparation of the vessel was done at Punta Sollana quay, in the port of Bilbao in Spain, where the onshore construction of the floater is currently underway.

Once loaded, the vessel left the Port towards the installation site at BiMEP test area where the elements’ connection and laying took place. The lines will be recovered from the seabed for a plug and play connection to the unit later this year.

“The installation of the SATH mooring lines worked perfectly. In the future, we will use them in all our commercial projects that are currently in the planning stage. The operations have been a great success since the earliest stage of design and the execution has been outstanding”, commented Araceli Martínez, Chief of Engineering at Saitec Offshore Technologies.

“It is great to see that the DemoSATH project has completed the next step of the offshore works, with the mooring system now in place – an important milestone on our way to the installation and commissioning of the floating turbine later this year. We as RWE see great potential for floating wind farms worldwide – especially to unlock opportunities in countries with deeper coastal waters. With DemoSATH we are gaining experience with an innovative concrete-based platform technology and are broadening our expertise in this growth market further,” said Chris Willow, Head of Floating Wind Development at RWE Renewables.

“With the completion of the installation of the mooring system, the DemoSATH project is ready for the installation of the foundation later this year. We have had good collaboration throughout the process – both in the planning and the execution phase. Engagement of the key stakeholders from developer to the fabricator of the floater have been instrumental for the successful completion. With this project, we hope to contribute to the development and maturation of the floating wind industry,” said Yvan Leyni, Director for Floating Wind at Maersk Supply Services.

Meanwhile, onshore construction of the prestressed concrete floating platform continues at the Port of Bilbao. Works on the transition piece, single point mooring and boat landing are also carried out as well as installation works inside the floaters. This will be followed by the launching operation to put afloat the platform that will then be transported to its final deployment site at BIMEP.

The DemoSATH project will use a 2MW turbine in a full scale prototype that will be deployed offshore Bilbao and will be the first floating turbine connected to the Spanish grid. This project is part-financed by the German energy company RWE Renewables, the world’s second largest offshore windpower company.

The base of the structure will be approximately 30 metres wide and 64 metres long. The platform will be towed to its anchorage point in a test field (BiMEP) 2 miles off the Basque coast (Spain), where the sea is about 85 metres deep. DemoSATH will have the potential to produce electricity for 2,000 homes.

This project aims to collect data and gain real-life knowledge from the construction procedure, operation, and maintenance of DemoSATH floating wind platform for a period of 2 years.

For more information on floating offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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DemoSATH completes offshore mooring installation

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