Renewable

February 5 (Renewables Now) - Floatgen, a 2-MW wind turbine demonstrator floating off the coast of western France, set a new record by producing 6.8 GWh of electricity in 2020, the platform developer, French firm Ideol, said.

The Floatgen turbine produced 14% more power than in 2019 and a total of 12.8 GWh in two years.

Floatgen hit another record in 2020 when it reached a capacity factor of over 66% in February.

The floating turbine is installed 22 km (13.7 miles) off the coast of Le Croisic at the SEM-REV site, a grid-connected offshore testing site operated by French engineering school Ecole Centrale de Nante.

Floatgen’s strong performance led to Ideol and the school signing an agreement to extend the operation of the turbine by three years. The three-year period will allow Ideol to pursue its research activities in order to further optimise its solution, the floating foundations developer said.

Floatgen is Ideol's first floating platform in operation and France's first and only offshore wind turbine.