Wind farms are becoming a more popular option for producing electricity as the focus shifts to renewable energy sources. Wind energy has numerous advantages; it is non-polluting, sustainable, and relatively efficient. Turbines can be seen dotting the landscape as well as the seascape.
However, one disadvantage of wind energy is that it is expensive, particularly offshore. Rather than giving up, some businesses are attempting to innovate their way out of this situation. One of these is Eolink, a French startup that is developing a five-megawatt floating turbine.
The floating part is important since transferring, configuring, and sustaining a tremendously tall and bulky turbine in the ocean depths is expensive and difficult. Eolink’s floating turbine design replaces the single large pole with four thinner ones angled towards each other in a pyramid shape. This not only evenly disburses the weight of the turbine’s components, but also makes the entire structure lighter.
Eolink’s proof-of-concept turbine will include a generation potential of five megawatts and weigh 1,100 tonnes. The base will consist of a square with sides 171 feet (52 meters) long, and the rotor will be 469 feet in diameter (143 meters).
According to Eolink, a single shipyard could produce 67 turbines per year. The turbines are tethered to the ocean floor, and within the limited space that this provides, the entire structure can turn 120 degrees to orient itself into the wind; it he blades will constantly be spinning as long as there is even a slight breeze blowing.
The company says its demonstrator turbine will be built this month, deployed in the spring, and commissioned in 2024. They also intend to scale up to a 20-megawatt turbine using the same design.
