Kongsberg Digital and the UK-based University of Plymouth have joined forces to create a new system that will support the installation, operation, and maintenance of floating offshore wind farms through simulator technology .
The partnership aims to provide offshore wind project teams and crew with facilities to verify, test, and optimise installation and maintenance projects in the floating wind by combining Kongsberg’s Dynamic Positioning (DP) simulator with the university’s research and development knowledge.
The K-Sim DP simulator will be installed at the Marine Navigation Centre on the university’s campus.
According to Kongsberg, the simulator has the “necessary fidelity and realism required for thorough studies, mission planning, training and assessment of crew, where various challenging scenarios can be evaluated and optimised in a safe environment.”
“Floating offshore wind turbines are seen as an increasingly important element of the renewable energy sector, which is a rapidly growing market. We look forward to cooperating with the University of Plymouth to support this industry with cutting-edge technology leading to improved safety and increased efficiency in offshore wind projects,” commented Andreas Jagtøyen , Executive Vice President Digital Ocean, Kongsberg Digital.
The new DP simulator was acquired through the university’s involvement in the Cornwall FLOW Accelerator project, which aims to support the UK’s goal to reach 40 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
The project is supported by Celtic Sea Power and a grant of GBP 4.8 million (approximately EUR 5.7 million) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme.
In December 2020, the University of Plymouth secured more than GBP 1 million to create a facility for testing new innovations in floating offshore wind technology.
The first-of-its-kind facility in the UK enables researchers to improve their understanding of how future technology advances could be impacted by atmospheric conditions, according to Plymouth University.