World's first 'wall of wind turbines' wins funding but anger as others miss out
Funding will see 40MW prototype built off Norwegian coast but industry body criticises government for missing 'golden opportunity' with other concepts
A futuristic floating wind design that builds a wall of small turbines has won Norwegian state funding – but a local industry body has lambasted the government for not also supporting other concepts.
Norwegian technology incubator Enova, which is owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, today awarded 1.2bn kroner ($107m) to local start-up Wind Catching Systems (WCS) to trial its groundbreaking design.
The Windcatcher concept envisages building towers of 1MW turbines that WCS claims could capture 2.5 times more energy per square metre of wind flow than a traditional three-blade turbine design.
WCS last year won certification for a 40MW model from classification agency DNV. The start-up will install this capacity for the trial project, which Enova said will boast an annual energy production of around 99GWh. The prototype will be installed near Bergen, a city on Norway’s southwestern coast.
A 40MW model would already be twice the size of the largest prototype offshore wind turbines on Earth, but WCS envisages eventually building units of up to 126MW capacity.
Arvid Nesse, CEO of industry body Norwegian Offshore Wind, hailed the “exciting and possibly disruptive technology that has the potential to bring costs down and give valuable learning for the supply chain.”
WCS chief Ole Heggheim said the award is a “significant milestone” that demonstrates Enova's important role in supporting Norwegian technology development.
It is the first time in world history that such a technology will be demonstrated, said Enova, with the project scheduled to be completed in 2029.
'Golden opportunity missed' for Norway’s offshore wind sector
Although Norwegian Offshore Wind celebrated the award to WCS, it said in a statement that it is “truly disappointed” that only one project received funding from Enova.
“In Norway we are pioneers in floating offshore wind, and we were under the impression that our government wanted us to build upon this position,” said Nesse. “With this grant, Norway had the chance to secure a diverse portfolio of floating projects and prepare for reduced costs at Utsira Nord.”
“The consequence is that supply chain companies are missing out on a golden opportunity to get hands-on experience prior to Utsira Nord,” a planned 1.5GW Norwegian floating wind tender.
The industry body declined to confirm which other concepts had applied for state support.
Cecilia Girard-Vika, director at the Marin Energi Testsenter, said to be the only site in Europe where concessions to test 15MW-plus turbines are already approved and issued, said: “On behalf of our test clients who applied for this grant, we are really disappointed, not to say surprised, that they did not receive support.”
She pointed out that the test site is close to where Utsira Nord will be located. As of now, the centre has four new projects in the pipeline, three of which applied for the government grant.
“We of course hope that these projects will go on as planned,” she said, “as they all contribute to bringing innovation forward and costs down before Utsira Nord.”
"Enova is responsible for designing support programmes to ensure that the funds are utilized as efficiently as possible within the framework of the agreement. The Ministry has trust in Enova's professional assessments."