Periodic Reporting for period 4 - FloatMastBlue (Offshore Wind Energy Cost Reduction by an Innovative Floating Met Mast Platform)
Reporting period: 2020-12-01 to 2021-07-31
Untapping an ocean of opportunities for the economic activity in the seas, requires cost and risk reduction. As the offshore environment is a quite hostile and dynamic environment for man-made infrastructures, design and economic analysis need to be based upon high quality site specific data. FloatMast® innovation aims at de-risking both at the engineering design level and at the financial level the projects by lowering the environmental loads and income uncertainties which add up to the economic viability of the projects.
FLOATMAST®, is an innovation measurement construction, aiming at reducing the risk of the wind resource estimation, which defines the OWP’s annual energy production, in a cost effective way. It combines the two current industry solutions by integrating a met mast and a Lidar remote sensing device in a stable floating foundation. The floating foundation is a mini Tension Leg Platform (TLP) which is anchored to the sea bed via wire ropes. The innovative design of the platform allows the collection of best wind resource in a floating foundation, according to the highest industry standards of IEC 61400-12-1 (IEC).
FLOATMAST® aims at disrupting the market of offshore wind resource measurements by lowering the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of OWPs. This will be achieved by: a) providing high quality wind measurements according to the industry’s standards and b) at a much lower cost (about 70%) than the current solution of the fixed met mast.
FLOATMAST®, is an innovation measurement construction, aiming at reducing the risk of the wind resource estimation, which defines the OWP’s annual energy production, in a cost effective way. It combines the two current industry solutions by integrating a met mast and a Lidar remote sensing device in a stable floating foundation. The floating foundation is a mini Tension Leg Platform (TLP) which is anchored to the sea bed via wire ropes. The innovative design of the platform allows the collection of best wind resource in a floating foundation, according to the highest industry standards of IEC 61400-12-1 (IEC).
FLOATMAST® aims at disrupting the market of offshore wind resource measurements by lowering the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of OWPs. This will be achieved by: a) providing high quality wind measurements according to the industry’s standards and b) at a much lower cost (about 70%) than the current solution of the fixed met mast.
FloatMastBlue Project, delivered as promised the first of its kind offshore mini-Tension Leg Platform Mast for offshore measurements, reaffirming European Union’s technological leadership in Offshore Wind Energy. The Project materialized FloatMast patent in every possible aspect as it demonstrated both concept correctness, by the provision of Certified wind measurements and technical feasibility as it completed a full 12-months campaign in operational conditions. The demonstration site was off the coast of Makronisos island in the Aegean, Greece, constituting the first steel in the water of offshore wind infrastructure in Greece, marking an exceptional milestone for Offshore Wind in the Med.
Completing the task was not easy as the team had to confront challenging weather conditions on the deployment site, a near zero offshore experience of deployment contractors in Greece, numerous novelties in the design and manufacturing of special parts which was a first of its kind for the suppliers and the contractors, a high operational risk in the offshore deployment site and an unknown operational performance of the floating asset, of the monitoring system and of the measurement sensors. In addition, all of these factors had to be addressed within tight budget restrictions which constituted an important factor for the consortium of the two Greek SMEs, namely ETME (Coordinator) and STREAMLINED.
All Project challenges were dealt successfully without jeopardizing safety of offshore operations but induced an additional time delay of 18 months due to offshore deployers’ market volatility, severe weather conditions and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Despite the unforeseen events, the Project completed the main goal of TRL 7 and reached TRL 8, looking for the next step which is the product commercialization.
Thanks to the EU funding of the Project (GA 784040), FloatMast innovation concept has been proved and certified. CRES MEASNET Institute, has verified the wind measurements’ campaign and provided an IEC 61400-12-1:2017 certification, the first ever for wind measurements through a floating platform. That was possible because “measurements with the FloatMast platform can be performed with accuracy comparable to fixed measurement platforms”, according to Deutsche Wind Guard third party Report.
In conclusion, FloatMast paves the way for market disruption, as it can be considered as the next generation of floating wind measurements, providing the highest possible transparency, quality, accuracy, robustness and value to Offshore Wind Park Developers, Consultants and Financiers, leading to risk reduction. This is turn, leads to a lower LCOE of Offshore Wind Energy resulting in a higher participation of Renewables in the Energy mix, helping EU and the World to accomplish Green House Gas emissions’ reduction goals, for the benefit of All.
Completing the task was not easy as the team had to confront challenging weather conditions on the deployment site, a near zero offshore experience of deployment contractors in Greece, numerous novelties in the design and manufacturing of special parts which was a first of its kind for the suppliers and the contractors, a high operational risk in the offshore deployment site and an unknown operational performance of the floating asset, of the monitoring system and of the measurement sensors. In addition, all of these factors had to be addressed within tight budget restrictions which constituted an important factor for the consortium of the two Greek SMEs, namely ETME (Coordinator) and STREAMLINED.
All Project challenges were dealt successfully without jeopardizing safety of offshore operations but induced an additional time delay of 18 months due to offshore deployers’ market volatility, severe weather conditions and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Despite the unforeseen events, the Project completed the main goal of TRL 7 and reached TRL 8, looking for the next step which is the product commercialization.
Thanks to the EU funding of the Project (GA 784040), FloatMast innovation concept has been proved and certified. CRES MEASNET Institute, has verified the wind measurements’ campaign and provided an IEC 61400-12-1:2017 certification, the first ever for wind measurements through a floating platform. That was possible because “measurements with the FloatMast platform can be performed with accuracy comparable to fixed measurement platforms”, according to Deutsche Wind Guard third party Report.
In conclusion, FloatMast paves the way for market disruption, as it can be considered as the next generation of floating wind measurements, providing the highest possible transparency, quality, accuracy, robustness and value to Offshore Wind Park Developers, Consultants and Financiers, leading to risk reduction. This is turn, leads to a lower LCOE of Offshore Wind Energy resulting in a higher participation of Renewables in the Energy mix, helping EU and the World to accomplish Green House Gas emissions’ reduction goals, for the benefit of All.
FLOATMAST® is aiming at reducing the cost per KWh of Blue Energy by reducing the risk of renewable energy production in Offshore Wind Parks (OWPs) thus, stimulating the share of renewables in the electricity mix, assisting in the decarbonisation of the energy production and contributing in the battle against climate change. Also, by performing environmental monitoring and met ocean data collection is attributing to the wider Blue Growth Strategy by advancing Marine Knowledge and Understanding of the Marine Environment and Ecosystems. Simultaneously, FLOATMAST® strengthens European Energy independency from imported fuels, promotes jobs creation and contributes massively to the growth potential of the participating companies ETME and STREAMLINED