Floating wind race heats up as Japan's Modec gets new classification nod
Modec has teamed up with powerful Japanese partners but arch-rival SBM Offshore already has TLPs in the water
Modec and Toyo Construction have obtained approval in principle (AIP) from Japanese marine classification society ClassNK for an adaption of tension leg platform (TLP) technology used in offshore oil & gas to provide foundation and tether systems for floating wind turbines.
Modec and Toyo teamed up with fellow Japanese companies Furukawa Electric and JERA in 2020 to obtain funding under a scheme run by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO), a research and development agency, aimed at reducing capital and operating costs for floating wind.
Designs for the floating structure and tether system were provided by Modec, a leading global supplier of floating offshore production systems to the oil and gas sector, and those of the tether pile foundation by Toyo Construction, an industrial conglomerate with a focus on energy projects.
Modec had already obtained AIP for its floating wind foundation technology from Oslo-based classification group DNV. Another was sought from ClassNK with the aim of fast-tracking some of the evaluation items that will be required during a planned demonstration project, Modec stated.
It also conducted a study on Japan's environmental conditions, including earthquakes and tsunamis, and received expert opinions from ClassNK which, they said, will be reflected in the design and the development during the expected demonstration project.
The TLP concept uses rigid steel ‘tendons’ attached to the seabed instead of catenary mooring lines used by conventional semisubmersibles, offering reduced motion and stress on turbine components, plus less physical impact on fishing zones and shipping lanes.
Modec's arch rival in supplying floating production systems to offshore oil and gas companies, Dutch company SBM Offshore, is also investing in floating wind platform technology.
SBM Offshore saw its own TLP technology used on the deployment of three floating wind units for the Provence Grand Large pilot project near Marseille, France, in collaboration with the renewables arm of the French Petroleum Institute, called IFP Energies Nouvelles.
The 25MW pilot wind farm is composed of three tension leg floaters, each supporting a 8.4MW wind turbine generator supplied by Siemens Gamesa.
It is owned by a subsidiaries of EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, along with CPP Investments.