Gazelle Wind Power unveils new tech

By: Chloe Emanuel

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26/04/2023 Gazelle Wind Power

Gazelle Wind Power (Gazelle) is unveiling third generation technology this week at WindEurope 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company’s design further refines Gazelle’s solution to address the primary challenges facing the offshore wind industry, such as cost, supply chain bottlenecks, and sustainability. Gazelle intends to solve these issues by providing a lightweight, cheaper design that minimizes the impact on fragile marine environments while using existing port infrastructure.

As a third generation technology, the platform delivers mooring innovation that enables serial production. The platform makes first generation technology, which was designed to float and survive harsh ocean conditions obsolete and improves on second generation designs that are focused on industrialization.

Instead, Gazelle’s platform moves away from archaic models that are stationary, heavy, bulky, and difficult to assemble and transport while reducing costs by 30% compared to conventional semi submersible designs. Part of this improvement comes from the reduction in steel versus traditional offshore platforms. For example, a 1 GW offshore wind farm using Gazelle’s solution would save 71 kilotons of steel and reduce emissions of approximately 100 kilotons of carbon dioxide.

The company’s platform can be quickly and simply installed at project sites because it requires no specialist cranes or vessels thanks to a cost effective design using globally available components and a modular assembly process.
Gazelle CTO Jason Wormald says: “On top of lowering costs and taking advantage of pre-existing infrastructure, every aspect of Gazelle’s floating offshore wind platform is designed to minimize environmental impact by using less steel and materials that protect the biodiversity of marine ecosystems, eliminating seabed scouring, and reducing installation impact."

The platform’s geometry provides reduced draft in port, which means it floats higher in the water enabling the use of shallow ports with high stability in towing and wet storage. Pivoting arms allow the platform to move with the wind, waves, and tides that result in lower forces, enabling a lighter structure.

The Gazelle platform utilizes a dynamic mooring system representing a paradigm shift from an active ballast to a natural, passive system that balances forces and motions through a counterweight, keeping the turbine pitch low and improving operational efficiency. Vertical mooring lines attached to the pivoting arms reduce the platform’s environmental footprint by minimizing impact and allowing for a 75% reduction in mooring length when compared to semi submersibles with catenary mooring in depths of 100 metres or more.


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

About the Author

4C Offshore | Chloe Emanuel
Chloe Emanuel

Press Coordinator

01502 307037 Chloe.Emanuel@4coffshore.net
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