Wind-to-X

Floating offshore wind turbines can be deployed in microgrids to help decarbonize offshore operations by providing clean, renewable energy to new or existing facilities.

Power supply to offshore facilities

A microgrid is a local, independent, and self-sufficient energy system that serves a specific location or facility, best suited for when power transmission and distribution from a central grid is unpractical or too costly.

The WindFloat®’s siting flexibility and large deck space make the technology particularly suited to provide clean, renewable power to new or existing offshore facilities, including aquaculture farms, deep-sea mining operations, and oil & gas production facilities, which are often in isolated locations, far from the electricity grid. Deploying floating wind turbines in autonomous microgrids can save costs versus fossil fuel generators and offers a way to facilitate the decarbonization of these far-shore industrial activities to reduce the carbon footprint of the blue economy.

Several developments are taking place on the Norwegian continental shelf, driven by government policies aiming at zero-carbon goals, the availability of strong wind resources in the area, and the suitability of the adjacent supply chain to deliver the necessary components. Principle Power has provided concept studies for operators to mature the design, with experience that is relevant to other geographies and could be extrapolated quickly.