Siem Offshore Contractors (SOC) has entered the floating offshore wind market through an investment in Ideol, a French firm specialising in floating offshore wind foundation technology.
SOC has until this point focused on the turnkey supply and installation of submarine composite cables on fixed-bottom offshore wind farms. In addition SOC provides equipment and personnel transfer as well as accommodation support vessels.
“Floating offshore wind is nearing commercial deployment and Ideol is unique by having demonstrator projects in two key markets of Europe and Japan,” SOC said in a release.
Ideol’s patented ‘Damping Pool’ floating foundation design is compatible with all existing offshore wind turbine generators and offers a cost-competitive solution and has global applications without water depth or soil constraints on sites benefiting from the best available wind locations.
Regis Rougier, managing director of SOC, said, “Siem Offshore Contractors has demonstrated its leadership in the field for fixed-bottom foundation offshore wind, and we will now expand into floating offshore wind. Our ability to de-risk the construction process by making use of our fleet of innovative vessels supported by our engineering teams will contribute to develop cost effective and reliable solutions for the next generation of offshore wind farms.”
