Spain's 2-MW DemoSATH floating wind system goes online

The DemoSATH floating platform, equipped with a 2-MW wind turbine and installed off the northern coast of Spain, has been connected to the grid and started electricity generation, a press release said on Monday.

The platform, floating 2 miles (3.2 km) off the Basque Country coast, now begins a two-year period of operations and data gathering to learn about the behaviour of the SATH, or Swinging Around Twin Hull, technology and how it interacts with the marine ecosystem.

The project is led by Spanish engineering firm Saitec Offshore Technologies, which designed the SATH concrete-based platform, in partnership with German energy group RWE AG (ETR:RWE) and Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power (TYO:9503), or KEPCO.

The partners installed the floater at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) test site about a month ago. Electricity from the turbine is transmitted to the Spanish grid via BiMEP’s substation. The platform is equipped with specialised tools for the identification of birds and bats and systems for monitoring marine ecosystem biodiversity.

The project will evaluate environmentally friendly solutions, custom designed for SATH, with the aim of supporting marine biodiversity and enhancing fishing resources in floating offshore wind farms, the partners said in the joint press release on Monday.

“This will be our testing ground to gain knowledge based on real-world experience and apply it in future larger-scale projects,” commented David Carrascosa, CEO of Saitec Offshore Technologies.

Sven Utermoehlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind, added: “We are glad to see that DemoSATH has been successfully commissioned. For us at RWE it is also another milestone on our way to unlock the great potential of floating wind globally, especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, like the US, France, UK, Norway and -- certainly -- Spain.”

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