SPANISH WIND MAKES PLANS TO FLOAT

Gamesa seeks to reserve four spots for its turbines at IREC’s ZÈFIR Test Station offshore wind farm
8 February 2011 (Gamesa)

"Gamesa aims to install two anchored and two floating turbines at the experimental offshore wind laboratory off the coast of Tarragona, Spain…The project marks further progress in the company's offshore strategy, as Gamesa designs and develops two families of 5 MW and 6 MW-7 MW turbines

"Gamesa, a global leader in wind energy, has signed a framework technology cooperation agreement with the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), seeking to reserve space at IREC's offshore wind energy laboratory, ZÈFIR Test Station, for the subsequent installation of Gamesa turbines…[A]t an initial stage, two spots will be for anchored turbines…[A]t a second stage; two spots will be for floating turbine systems."

click to enlarge

"The ZÈFIR Test Station project will be an experimental offshore wind energy lab…devoted to testing offshore wind turbines and related infrastructure in a deep-water environment…[It] will consist of a total of 12 turbine spaces, developed in two stages…

"…The first stage will involve the installation of a maximum of four turbines anchored to the seabed approximately 3.5 kilometres off the coast, with combined installed capacity not to exceed 20 MW…The second phase calls for a maximum of eight floating turbines, installed some 30 kilometres off the coast, with combined installed capacity of up to 50 MW…"

Soon to set to sea (click to enlarge

"Gamesa is engaged in the design and development of two families of offshore turbines (the G11X-5.0 MW and the G14X, with unit capacity of 6 MW-7 MW) based on the proven and validated technologies used in its G10X-4.5 MW machine. The initial two prototypes of the G11X-5.0 MW system will undergo testing in the last quarter of 2012, with a pre-series set to land on the market in 2013…

"…[T]he G14X (6 MW-7 MW) offshore turbine, pre-series of which may be market-ready in 2014, will address medium- and long-term growth in turbine demand through the development of new generations of higher-capacity offshore turbines."