Spanish floating wind platform developer Saitec Offshore Technologies has been awarded three weeks at IFREMER’s wave basin facilities in France to further validate and develop its SATH technology due to funding from the European network Marinet2.
The SATH (Swinging Around Twin Hull) platform aims to reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE), targeting both Capital and Operational Expenditures, which makes it cost-competitive to monopile foundations, according to Saitec.
The solution is made of concrete, comprising two twin hulls bonded to a single point, with a bearing that allows the platform to swing around this point. The Single Point Mooring approach, commonly employed in the oil & gas industry, reduces the pressure on the platform, the company said.
Earlier this year, Saitec completed a test campaign at The Environmental Hydraulics Institute IHCantabria, Spain, which aimed at the future installation of a 2MW wind turbine in BiMEP, the open-sea test site in the Basque Country.
In addition, the developer signed an agreement with Univergy Internacional in January in order to establish a special purpose company for the development of floating wind projects using SATH technology in Japan.