Presentations

Abstract

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWT) are growing in popularity and are expected to be a key component in the future energy mix, with the potential to contribute significantly to global energy consumption. This fast-evolving industry has been influenced by different sectors such as oil and gas, naval, onshore wind and, primarily, by fixed offshore technology. Saitec Offshore Technologies embraced the existing knowledge of these fields and merged them towards a highly competitive and versatile floating offshore wind turbine barge solution, namely SATH (Swinging Around Twin Hull) technology. The development of the technology has enabled the consolidation of deep knowhow on the design methodology and engineering of floating offshore wind platforms demonstrated through the deployment of the 2MW DemoSATH prototype. One of the groundbreaking features of SATH is its Single Point Mooring (SPM) system, which allows the platform to rotate and align with prevailing wind, wave, and current conditions. This alignment reduces mooring stress and optimizes power generation by enabling the nacelle's yaw system to effectively orient the turbine towards the wind. The 2MW DemoSATH prototype represents a significant advancement in ongoing research and development process and provides a full-scale demonstration of SATH's innovative design and engineering capabilities. Over the past year, the DemoSATH floater and the wind turbine generator are currently being monitored, providing a unique opportunity to analyse their performance and validate the numerical models developed at Saitec. The observations up-to-date show good results, aligning with predictions from both numerical simulations and laboratory-scale experiments. Key performance parameters such as platform stability, hydrodynamic behaviour, orientation, energy production efficiency and heave plate efficiency are being analysed, giving an in-depth insight into the platform's operational capabilities and potential scaling effects.