Once fully operational, the WindFloat Atlantic project is expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 60,000 users annually

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WindFloat Atlantic project begins supplying electricity in Portugal. Credit: EDP Renewables.

EDP Renewables and its partners have announced that the first platform of the 25MW WindFloat Atlantic wind farm in Portugal, has been connected to the grid and started generating electricity.

The connection of the project’s first platform was completed following the energisation of the 20km cable that connects the wind farm and the substation in the Portuguese municipality of Viana do Castelo.

Located 20km off the coast of Viana do Castelo, Portugal, the floating wind farm consists of three MHI Vestas V164-8.4 MW offshore wind turbines mounted on top of Principle Power’s semi-submersible WindFloat foundations.

The three WindFloat Atlantic platforms are anchored with chains to the seabed at a depth of 100m, each will be 30m tall and columns 50m apart.

EDP Renewables stated: “They are designed to be transported by standard towing craft, as opposed to bottom-fixed projects which require expensive vessels to be mobilized for transport, and their on-shore assembly helps scale back logistics, financial and environmental costs associated with marine construction.

“All of these technological advantages make it viable for the project to be replicated anywhere in the world, at a much larger scale.”

WindFloat Atlantic is being developed by the Windplus, a consortium comprising Portuguese utility EDP Renewables with a 54.4% stake, French energy giant Engie with 25%, Spanish oil major Repsol with 19.4%, and US floating wind foundation specialist, Principle Power with 1.2% interest.

WindFloat Atlantic project utilises WindFloat technology

EDP Renewables said that the commissioning of the wind farm is expected to provide access to untapped offshore wind resource and represents a significant technological leap towards a carbon-free economy.

The platforms are constructed in cooperation between the two countries on the Iberian peninsula of which two were manufactured at the Setúbal shipyards (Portugal), and the third at Avilés and Ferrol shipyards (Spain).

The project utilises WindFloat technology developed by Principle Power that allows wind platforms to be installed in deep waters.

Once fully operational, the WindFloat Atlantic project is expected to generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 60,000 users annually.

Windplus said that the other two units will be connected successively until they reach 25MW of the project.