Mutualised anchors and floating offshore wind
Published on 23/02/2022
Reducing the cost associated with the anchoring system
After the development of demonstrators and the deployment of small pilot farms, the next step for floating wind energy will be commercial farms, operating 20 to 100 turbines; this leads to a reflection on the anchoring systems to be used for such projects. In a 100-turbine wind farm, shared anchors could significantly reduce the cost of the anchoring system. In addition, the potential for reducing the discounted cost of energy (LCOE), because beyond the supply of anchors and adapted lines, installation, monitoring and maintenance must also be considered.
Assessing the potential of mutualised anchoring within a collaborative project
In this context, the collaborative R&D project MUTANC was initiated in September 2021. With a duration of 3 years and a budget of €1,300k, it aims to study the potential of mutualised anchors to reduce the LCOE of floating offshore wind farms in a set of configurations representative of future deployments. Numerical work will represent an important part of the study with the analysis of float loads on shared anchors and geotechnical modelling. This work will be complemented by centrifuge tests on reduced-scale models to study the behaviour of the anchorage under multidirectional and cyclic loads: a first in Europe.
Complementary partners and strong financial support
Led by France Energies Marines, MUTANC brings together 10 academic and private partners in a consortium with complementary skills and contributions: Université Gustave Eiffel, Université de Nantes, Université Grenoble Alpes, EDF, Eolfi, Innosea, Saipem, Technip Energies, TotalEnergies and wpd offshore France. WEAMEC, the Pays de la Loire region, Nantes Métropole and the Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique are providing financial support for the project, which is also benefiting from French state funding managed by the National Research Agency under the Investments for the Future Programme.
Photo credit: Université Gustave Eiffel