After being fully assembled onshore, the scaled-down version of the BlueSATH floating wind turbine prototype has been lowered into water, Saitec Offshore Technologies said.
The BlueSATH (Swinging Around Twin Hull) prototype is now ready to be transported to the installation site off Santander, Spain.
Following the installation, this 1:6 version of the BlueSATH turbine will operate for a period of 12 months after which the prototype will be completely decommissioned.
The scaled-down version has a hub height of 17.45 metres and weighs around 50 tons. The turbine model used is an AE-30kW (Aeolos) with a rotor diameter of 15 metres.
The main objectives of the BlueSATH project cover the SATH platform validation of its response and dynamic behavior. The aim is to obtain models that allow for structural optimization, enabling cost reduction and validating structural turbine integrity.
The obtained results and findings will be applied in the following 2MW real-scale model to be installed on the Basque Marine Energy Platform (BIMEP) in 2021.