由西班牙工程公司Saitec offshore Technologies牵头，德国能源公司RWE和日本关西电力公司(KEPCO)合作的浮动海上风电项目DemoSATH实现了一个重要的里程碑，它开始发电。
8月，DemoSATH安装在巴斯克地区Armintza的BiMEP测试区。随后，将现有的静态海底电缆连接到吸波动态电缆，并成功地连接到平台的艏炮塔。这一成就使得通过BiMEP变电站将产生的电力传输到电网，将风力转化为清洁的可再生能源。
DemoSATH平台位于巴斯克海岸2英里外，拥有一台容量为2兆瓦(MW)的涡轮机。它的年产量相当于大约2000个西班牙家庭的年用电量。由于这个项目，浮动海上风力发电技术首次作为一种新的可再生能源发电技术被引入西班牙的能源结构。
此次试运行标志着为期两年的作业期的开始，该作业期将收集SATH技术的行为数据，并监测安装在平台上的系统，以了解其与周围生态系统的相互作用。SATH技术由Saitec Offshore Technologies开发。
已经安装了鉴定鸟类和蝙蝠的专门工具，以及监测当地环境中海洋生态系统生物多样性(如甲壳类动物群落、其他无脊椎动物、鱼类和鲸类动物)的系统。这些监测活动将提供对漂浮海上涡轮机周围群体和物种行为的见解。
此外，该项目还将包括评估为SATH定制的环境友好型解决方案，旨在支持海洋生物多样性并提高海上浮动风力发电场的渔业资源。
DemoSATH项目代表了海上浮式风电行业的一个重要里程碑，成为西班牙第一个连接到电网的海上浮式风力涡轮机，是欧洲第5个在公海安装超过1兆瓦涡轮机的浮式技术，也是第3个达到这一发展水平的混凝土技术。
Saitec Offshore Technologies首席运营官David Carrascosa表示:“DemoSATH开始发电标志着该项目达到了高潮。我们为所完成的工作感到自豪，并为成为西班牙通过浮动风力涡轮机提供可再生能源的先驱感到自豪。这将是我们从实际经验中获取知识并将其应用于未来更大规模项目的试验场。”
RWE海上风电首席执行官Sven Uterm?hlen:“我们很高兴看到DemoSATH已经成功投入使用。对于莱茵集团来说，这也是我们在全球范围内释放浮动风的巨大潜力的道路上的又一个里程碑，特别是在美国、法国、英国、挪威和西班牙等沿海水域较深的国家。我们的目标是成为市场领先的浮式风电运营商，在全球范围内安全开发、建造和运营具有成本竞争力的商业规模浮式风电项目。与我们的其他示范项目一起，DemoSATH使我们能够为未来的商业规模开发获得早期经验。其独特的混凝土平台和单点系泊设计进一步拓宽了我们对创新浮式风概念的了解。”
关西电力公司可再生能源部门执行董事Kazumi Ogura:“作为开创性项目的一员，我很荣幸能够达到这一重要的里程碑。我们对当地社区和众多利益相关方的合作和理解表示深切的感谢。我们期待着将从这个项目中吸取的经验教训应用到零碳社会的发展中。”
The floating offshore wind project DemoSATH, led by the Spanish engineering firm Saitec Offshore Technologies, in collaboration with the German energy company RWE and the Japanese company Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO), achieves a significant milestone as it commences electricity generation.
In August DemoSATH was installed offshore at the BiMEP testing area at Armintza in the Basque Country. Subsequently, the connection of the existing static seabed cable to the motion-absorbing dynamic cable, and the link to the platform’s bow turret was successfully completed. This achievement enables the transmission of the generated electricity into the electrical grid through the BiMEP substation, converting the force of the wind into clean renewable energy.
The DemoSATH platform, located 2 miles off the Basque coast, features a turbine with a capacity of 2 megawatt (MW). Its annual production is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 2,000 Spanish households. As a result of this project, floating offshore wind technology is being introduced as a new renewable generation technology in Spain’s energy mix for the first time.
The commissioning marks the beginning of a two-year operational period to gather data about the behavior of the SATH technology, developed by Saitec Offshore Technologies, and the monitoring of the systems installed on the platform to understand its interaction with the surrounding ecosystem.
Specialized tools for the identification of birds and bats have been installed, as well as systems for monitoring marine ecosystem biodiversity (such as crustacean communities, other invertebrates, fish, and cetaceans) within the local environment. These monitoring activities will provide insights into the behavior of groups and species around the floating offshore turbine.
Additionally, the project will involve the evaluation of environmentally friendly solutions, custom-designed for SATH, which will aim to support marine biodiversity and enhance fishing resources in floating offshore wind farms.
The DemoSATH project represents a significant milestone in the floating offshore wind industry, becoming Spain’s first floating offshore wind turbine to connect to the electrical grid, the 5th European floating technology with a turbine of over 1 MW installed in open sea, and the 3rd concrete-based technology to reach this level of development.
David Carrascosa, COO at Saitec Offshore Technologies: “The start of energy generation from DemoSATH marks a culmination in the project. We are proud of the work accomplished and of being the pioneers in Spain in providing renewable energy with a floating wind turbine. This will be our testing ground to gain knowledge based on real-world experience and apply it in future larger-scale projects.”
Sven Uterm?hlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “We are glad to see that DemoSATH has been successfully commissioned. For us at RWE it is also another milestone on our way to unlock the great potential of floating wind globally, especially in countries with deeper coastal waters, like the US, France, UK, Norway and – certainly – Spain. Our ambition is to be a market leading floating wind player who safely develops, builds, and operates cost-competitive, commercial-scale floating wind projects around the world. Jointly with our other demonstration project, DemoSATH enables us to gain early experience for our future commercial-scale developments. Its unique concrete-based platform and single point mooring design further broadens our knowledge on innovative floating wind concepts.”
Kazumi Ogura, Executive Director of the Renewable Energy Division at Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc: “It is a great honor to reach this significant milestone as a member of the pioneering project. We would like to express our profound gratitude to the local community and numerous stakeholders for their cooperation and understanding. We are looking forward to applying the lessons learned from this project towards the advancement of a zero-carbon society.”
