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.
