Maersk Supply Service (MSS) has secured a contract from Spanish engineering company Saitec Offshore Technologies to install the mooring system for its DemoSATH floating wind project, developed in partnership with German energy firm RWE.
The DemoSATH project will use a 2 MW turbine in a full scale prototype that will be deployed offshore Bilbao and will be the first floating turbine connected to the Spanish grid. A project team is being assembled to prepare for the offshore installation in the second quarter of 2022.
“This is a significant contract for Maersk Supply Service, as floating wind is a cornerstone of our green strategy and transition to offshore renewables,” said Olivier Trouvé, head of integrated solutions at Maersk Supply Service.
The SATH technology is based on a concrete platform concept with a plug-and-play single point mooring, the same technology used for FPSOs. This anchoring system allows an easy connection so the platform can be disconnected and taken ashore for maintenance. The platform can rotate freely around this single point like a weathervane, reducing the environmental forces on the platform and, as a consequence, the cost of the mooring. MSS explained that it also helps the yaw control of the turbine to orientate the rotor plane against the wind.
