In order to increase the proportion of electricity produced from renewable sources, exploitation of marine energy is nowadays considered inevitable. There are high expectations of offshore wind energy, as further from the coast, the wind blows stronger and more constantly. But going further from the coast implies greater water depth requiring to engineer floating platforms that are reliable and cost effective, capable of supporting large turbines.

As a high-end company in offshore engineering, Principia, a subsidiary of Artelia, is providing Owner and Engineering work to Marine Power Systems for the development of their floating platform technology. Their floating wind platform, PelaFlex, supports the rapid deployment of industrial scale floating offshore wind, whilst maximising local content delivery through existing supply chain.

High system stability, low overall mass and zero tilt maximises energy yields, allows for simple installation using standard vessels and increases operation and maintenance weather windows. Multiple launch options and shallow draft supports a distributed port model for faster deployment and reduces the need for specific port requirements.

Principia is responsible for the detailed design of the floating wind platform, fitted with a 2MW turbine, and it will soon be deployed for real life testing on the BiMEP (Biscay Marine Energy Platform) test site in northern Spain.

Photo credits: Marine Power Systems