A Cornish business is collaborating with leading power producer RWE on a study to investigate innovative floating wind deployment in the Celtic Sea.
RWE, Wales’ largest renewable energy generator, has funded the study with enginereeing specialist Sarens and Falmouth marine tech company Tugdock, to research the quayside offload and launch of two types of floating offshore wind platforms – one steel and one concrete – alongside the integration of next generation wind turbine generators onto these platforms.
Its aim is to maximise local supply chain opportunities by utilising local port infrastructure such as that at Port Talbot and Milford Haven, two of Wales’ deepest ports.
The study will investigate using Sarens’ established crane and barge technology alongside Tugdock’s innovative submersible platform utilising a hybrid of both approaches.
Lucas Lowe-Houghton, director of strategy and growth at Tugdock, said: “The sheer scale of floating offshore wind turbines and their sub-structures creates a significant logistical challenge for ports around the world, many of which are constrained by size, water depth or tidal range.
“Our unique technology has been designed to meet this challenge head on.”
