Principle Power Inc News

The third - and final - floating wind turbine has been towed offshore as part of the Windfloat Atlantic project, located 20 km from Viana do Castelo on the Portuguese coast. The project, dubbed the first floating offshore wind farm in continental Europe, is operated by the Windplus consortium, consisting of EDP Renováveis (54.4%), Engie (25%), Repsol (19.4%) and Principle Power Inc. (1.2%). Bourbon Subsea Services is responsible for the towing and the connection of the 8.4 MW floating wind turbine supplied by MHI Vestas.With the support of three vessels (the Bourbon Orca AHTS…

The second of the three platforms for the WindFloat Atlantic project has left the Port of Ferrol for its final destination 20 kilometers offshore Viana do Castelo, Portugal.Upon arrival to the project site, it will be installed next to the first floating platform, which has the exact same dimensions: 30 meters in height and with a 50-meter distance between each column. The third and final platform, once it arrives to the site, will complete the first floating offshore wind farm in Continental Europe.Transportation of the three WindFloat Atlantic floating structures is a milestone in itself, as it sidesteps the need for towing craft designed specifically for this process and makes it possible for the project to be replicated in other geographies.The structure…

UK's developer and supplier of connectors, First Subsea has delivered a beach landing Cable Protection System for the export cables on the 25MW WindFloat Atlantic project, located 20 kilometers off the coast of Viana do Castelo in Portugal. Hengtong Group was contracted through its Submarine Business Units to deliver the export cable for the beach export system which was installed on schedule by its contractor DeepOcean at the end of June 2019.The cable protection system is designed to suit the export cable and consists of clamps, bellmouth and cable protection. First Subsea project manager Ross Carrington said: “With the close cooperation and support of our client DeepOcean…

California Dreamin': In CA, offshore wind has unlimited potentialWhen it comes to States promoting renewable, non-fossil electricity generation, California surely leads the list, from utility-scale regional grids to individual rooftop solar panels.In fact, a December 2018 update from the California Energy Commission (CEC) estimates the state may already have exceeded an initial renewable generation goal of 33% by 2020. CEC estimates that in 2018 that generation number was already 34%.

Offshore renewable energy is gaining investment support in the United States, particularly on the east coast. While the U.S. is a full generation behind its European counterparts in tapping the wind as an energy source, if current plans come to fruition it could gain ground quickly. Recently we spoke with Astrid Skarheim Onsum, SVP, Head of Wind Aker Solutions, for her view on the path ahead and the growing role and promising future of ‘floating wind.’Please give an overview of your responsibilities as SVP…

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, cut carbon pollution and develop domestic energy sources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today it has taken an important step toward issuing a research lease for a facility to test utility-scale wave energy devices in federal waters off Oregon. The non-competitive lease would be for the offshore area where the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon State University (Center) would site the hydrokinetic energy research project.

As part of the Obama Administration's Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, develop domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon pollution, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today that it is seeking public comment as it prepares an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze potential impacts of a proposed wind energy demonstration project offshore the coast of Oregon. Principle Power, Inc. (Principle Power) has requested a wind energy commercial lease from BOEM. The company proposes to design, develop and demonstrate a grid-connected, 30-megawatt (MW) offshore wind pilot demonstration project on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Coos Bay, Oregon.

On the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union address where he laid out actions to move the economy toward clean energy sources, reduce carbon pollution and create jobs, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has announced an important step forward for the first offshore wind project proposed for federal waters off the West Coast. Governor John Kitzhaber and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau joined Jewell to announce that BOEM has given the green light for Principle Power, Inc.

Renewable energy technology developer, Principle Power, was awarded a Department of Energy grant worth $4M and up to $47M in total funding, to support its WindFloat Pacific Demonstration Project. Principle Power has announced the list of official project partners, all marked to deliver essential contributions to the WindFloat project. The list of project partners include MacArtney Underwater Technology, Siemens Wind Power, Houston Offshore Engineering, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory…

Classification society ABS has provided certification services for the design, fabrication and installation for the first WindFloat facility. The WindFloat Aguçadoura unit is a 2 MW floating wind turbine moored in slightly less than 50 m water depth 4 km offshore the northern Portuguese coast. The WindFloat project is the first offshore wind deployment in the world that did not require heavy lift equipment offshore. Final assembly and pre-commissioning took place in a controlled shoreside environment. This installation also is the first deployment of a semisubmersible structure supporting a commercial size wind turbine. ABS design review…