X1 Wind produces 1st power from floating wind prototype off Spain

Spanish floating wind technology developer X1 Wind said on Tuesday that its X30 prototype platform installed off the coast of Spain's Canary Islands generated first power, a milestone that marks the start of the second phase of the validation process for the setup.

The X30 floating platform is installed with a TLP mooring system and equipped with a specially adapted Vestas V29 wind turbine and ABB power converter. The first power from the prototype was fed via a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 miles) underwater cable into the smartgrid of the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN).

The innovative platform, developed through the EU-backed PivotBuoy Project, was installed in November 2022. It was first tested without power to validate the hydrodynamic behaviour of the platform and survivability in severe storm conditions, X1 Wind's electrical engineering manager Adrian Oliva said.

“Now generating power, we’ve commenced a second phase to assess the floater behaviour during operation. This all forms part of X1 Wind's extensive testing verification programme to fully validate the platform in real world operational conditions and de-risk our technology,” Oliva added.

The PivotBuoy Project will officially wrap up on March 31, 2023. X1 Wind said it had already requested an extension of the testing period until May before decommissioning the prototype as part of the project.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!