Posters

Abstract

This conference speaking slot aims to explore floating substructure designs and what design parameters enable foundations to accommodate the build-out of floating offshore wind. Rating of wind turbine generators (WTGs) has seen a rapid expansion which is one of the aspects that have led to the profitability and continuous deployment of offshore wind. It is, however, also a factor that has somewhat prevented the standardization of WTGs and makes it harder to drive down manufacturing costs. These factors have led to the question of whether standardisation of current WTG models or continuous development into larger WTGs should be the focus for the industry. Our presentation adds another perspective to the "Is bigger always better question". Results from studies show that floating substructures scale very favourably with larger WTGs but can equally benefit from the standardisation of WTGs through the utilisation of the industrialised supply chain. Stiesdal is instead convinced that the pathway to deployment floating offshore wind at commercial scale is more heavily defined by streamlining the integration process with the WTGs through design and thereby easing the process of acquiring WTGs for floating wind projects. This is rooted in a belief that acquiring the WTGs could become a bottleneck for projects and before the industry can be fully industrialised, there is a need to mature the industry through proven projects. Such proven projects are necessary to have a bankable product which is the first step on the pathway to industrialisation. Stiesdal will for the presentation utilise our experience as foundation designers and heavy ties to the OEM industry to illuminate the design requirements and benefits of ensuring WTG attractiveness. This will include touching upon topics such as WTG and floater integration, controllers, project size, supply chain possibilities and more to highlight possibilities for working together with OEMs.