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Plans to develop a 1.5GW floating offshore wind farm in the UK have been unveiled by Atlantis Resources and Ideol.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which they agree to work together to build a pre-commercial phase of up to 100MW by 2021.
Under the terms of the agreement, Atlantis will be in charge of reviewing, selecting and gaining consent for potential sites in the UK, as well as securing financing. Ideol will design the technical concepts and provide the floating foundations for the turbines.
“Abundant offshore wind resources, governmental incentives and support frameworks combined with extensive oil and gas, maritime and fixed offshore wind experience will position the UK as one of the market leaders for floating wind projects,” it said in a statement.
“Atlantis and Ideol intend to deliver the pathfinder project that will catalyse a boom in future floating offshore wind development in the UK.”
The announcement follows Atlantis’ decision earlier this month to establish Atlantis Energy – a new division tasked with developing non-tidal stream projects, which have previously been a focus for the company.
“This MoU is a significant step in our diversification strategy and leverages our existing skill set accumulated during the progression of our tidal portfolio,” said Atlantis Resources chief executive Tim Cornelius.
“To now be seeking to develop a large floating offshore wind project alongside the UK’s largest tidal stream project is truly exciting. We want to leverage Ideol’s expertise in designing, engineering, building and installing floating offshore wind substructures to bring UK consumers affordable, sustainable and secure power.”
Ideol is based in France and its Damping Pool foundations will be used for the country’s first floating wind farm. The 2MW demonstration project, named Floatgen, is being built off the west coast of France and is expected to start generating power by the end of 2017.
The foundations will also be used for a demonstration project in Japan which is due to be commissioned in 2018, as well as 24MW project off France’s Mediterranean coast which is scheduled for commissioning in 2020.
UK company Atlantis Resources is developing the MeyGen tidal stream project in the Pentland Firth in Scotland. In December, it revealed that the first turbine installed at the site was operating at full power. The project, which could eventually have a capacity of 398MW, was awarded a €20.3 million grant by the European Commission earlier this month.
The Energy Technologies Institute recently called for a greater focus on the development and deployment of floating foundations, saying they are key to bringing down the cost of offshore wind.
Hywind Scotland – the world’s first floating wind farm – is due to be commissioned later this year. Last week UAE-based renewable investor Masdar Clean Energy bought a 25 per cent in the project. The 30MW pilot park will be located around 25 kilometres off the coast of Peterhead.
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