Principle Power expands WindFloat® product portfolio, launches WindFloat F

26 September 2023

WindFloat F - the new patented, flat panel, pontoon-based solution from Principle Power - extends the floating pioneer’s 4th generation WindFloat® portfolio, marking a new era of industrialization and global expansion.

Emeryville, California - Floating wind industry leader Principle Power has expanded its WindFloat product portfolio to two fully industrialized products: the existing WindFloat tubular design – now called WindFloat T – and the new flat panel, pontoon-based solution, known as the WindFloat F.

Leveraging 12 years of operational experience, both WindFloat products are market ready, suitable for the next generation of offshore wind turbines, and will play an integral role in the company’s wider industrialization vision for floating wind.

This is a major milestone in the history of Principle Power. We have taken the bankable, proven, and reliable WindFloat tubular design and leveraged many of its characteristics to develop a patented new design, the WindFloat F. Whether it’s the WindFloat T or the new WindFloat F, we will work with customers to select the right WindFloat for their projects.

Julian Arrillaga Costa
— CEO

The launch of the WindFloat F comes as Principle Power spurs the floating wind industry toward global expansion, where GW-scale projects in diverse geographies place new demands on the supply chain, including more restrictive port infrastructure, the need for serial production, and a need for greater flexibility to incorporate local supply chains into project execution plans.

More specifically, the WindFloat F is designed for ultra-shallow wind turbine integration in ports as shallow as 9 meters. The additional buoyancy of the pontoons also minimizes column diameter and footprint, creating more options within supply chains.

Combining flat panel architecture, widely used in shipbuilding and oil & gas, with proven technology from the WindFloat T, the new design includes the same 3-column architecture and an improved hull trim system. The WindFloat F offers project developers a standardized, robust, and simple design that allows for automated subcomponent manufacturing at existing Tier 1 and Tier 2 fabrication facilities.

We’ve taken proven flat panel architecture, the 550 GWh WindFloat operational track record, and our state-of-the-art numerical models, and extended all of it to the WindFloat F. This means we can offer project developers patented products that are bankable from the beginning.

Seth Price
— Vice President of Technology

The expanding WindFloat® product portfolio will play a key role in Principle Power’s industrialization vision, called “300x30” – the company’s global strategy to enable the delivery of 300 floating wind turbines by 2030, propelling the industry into the gigawatt scale era.

Taking our two WindFloat products into the ‘300x30’ industrialization program streamlines fabrication and accelerates assembly in a way that accommodates local supply chains around the world. The new product portfolio, together with our industrialization strategy, is an entirely new way of thinking about efficiency and scale. It’s our vision for a planet powered by floating wind.

Aaron Smith
— Chief Commercial Officer

With 75 MW of capacity in operation and 30 MW currently under construction, Principle Power is the market leader in floating wind technology. The company has secured exclusivity to supply WindFloat® technology to commercial-scale projects totaling 10 GW of projects under design contact and is supporting customers to deliver a multi-GW portfolio of cost-competitive floating wind projects worldwide.

WindFloat® Product Portfolio

Steel semi-submersible platforms with 3-column architecture
Scalable with next generation of wind turbines (15 MW+)
Smart hull trim system reduces wind turbine loads and enables optimal platform weight & footprint, boosting AEP by up to 2% vs. passive systems
Industrialized to enable reliable delivery of commercial scale projects
Patented designs – with full freedom to operate globally

WindFloat F

Bankable from the beginning:

Patent-protected design leverages three generations of WindFloat heritage coupled with proven flat panel architecture from oil & gas
Structural geometry changes relative to WindFloat T to enable panel-based fabrication methods (e.g., cylindrical to hexagonal columns)

Columns suitable for stiffened flat panel construction:

Compatible with existing automated flat-panel fabrication lines in key markets, opening new capacity for the delivery of floating wind projects

Optimized for industrialized delivery:

Modular “block” subcomponent philosophy for columns, pontoons, and box braces
Blocks manufactured in automated serial lines in indoor facilities for high throughput and quality
Simple geometries for high density transportation and wet/dry storage

Pontoon-based buoyancy:

Reduces draft and keeps column size & footprint to a minimum
Allows for WTG integration in ultra shallow water ports (9m depth)

WindFloat T

Proven, Reliable, and Bankable

75MW in operation and 30 MW under construction

Columns suitable for tubular construction

Rolled or gravity bend construction methods

Optimized for industrialized delivery

Modular design to enable flexibility in execution plans
Automation-ready subcomponent modules for factory-style production with high throughput and quality
Full frame assembly of trusses incorporating automated orbital welding for rapid assembly with minimal yard requirements
Skid-mounted marine system packages (consolidated in column 1) for simplified integration, completion, and maintenance

Water Entrapment Plates (WEP) for optimal performance

Decoupling of heave and pitch dynamics improves response to waves
Increased damping helps emergency shutdown responses

WindFloat Projects

75 MW now in operation:

WindFloat Atlantic, Portugal – 3 x 8.4 MW (25 MW capacity)
Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland – 5 x 9.5 MW (50 MW capacity)
Maximum wind speed = 59.6 m/s, max wave height = 17 m
550 GWh delivered to the grid

30 MW currently under construction:

Les Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe de Lion (EFGL), France – 3 x 10 MW (30 MW capacity)

WindFloat project pipeline

Over 10 GW of projects under design contact
4.3 GW with site control
5.9 GW pre-site control
Covers 10 markets globally spanning EMEA, APAC, and AMER
Water depths ranging from 40 to more than 1500 m
WTG sizes from 12 to 20+ MW
Pipeline includes projects choosing both WindFloat T and WindFloat F

About Principle Power

Principle Power is a global energy technology and services company. The company’s proven WindFloat® product portfolio – consisting of the WindFloat T and WindFloat F – is unlocking offshore wind potential worldwide by enabling projects to harvest the best wind resource, irrespective of water depth or seabed condition. Principle Power acts as a trusted partner to developers, independent power producers, utilities and EPCs, supporting its customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their projects. With 75 MW of capacity already in operation, Principle Power is now guided by its “300x30” industrialization vision to deliver 300 floating wind turbines by 2030, propelling the industry into the gigawatt scale era. The company has secured exclusivity to supply WindFloat® technology to commercial-scale projects in all key floating wind markets totaling 10 GW of projects under design contract.

Visit: http://www.principlepower.com

15 February 2024