SAFS · Development of screw anchors for floating Marine Renewable Energy system arrays incorporating anchor sharing

Development of screw anchors for floating Marine Renewable Energy system arrays incorporating anchor sharing

The EU has set up ambitious objectives to increase the renewable energy production in the Union to reduce its global environmental impact and ensures it energy independence. Offshore wind turbines have many advantages as wind is stronger offshore than onshore and there is more space available. The EU is at the leading edge of offshore wind development and many offshore wind farms already exist along the coast of several countries such as the UK, Denmark, Belgium or Portugal. Conventional offshore wind turbines are usually founded on long steel piles (named monopiles), whose diameter reaches up to 6-8m, which penetrates the soil over several tens of meters. However, the deployment of new wind farms faces several challenges. Firstly, the space available in easily accessible shallow waters is already occupied. Secondly the installation of these monopiles generates a great disturbance for marine mammals and mitigation techniques are very expensive. The development of floating wind turbines may be the solution to these challenges. Floating wind farms can be deployed further away from the coasts, harvest stronger and more consistent winds. In addition, the existing chain of supply of the Oil and gas industry can be easily adapted to these more sustainable applications, maintaining job and EU leadership. However, floating wind turbines require suitable mooring and anchoring systems to stay in place during operation and storms. The objective of the SAFS project is to develop a new generation of foundations (i.e. screw anchors) for floating offshore applications (wind turbines but also wave energy converters or tidal turbines), by increasing the reliability of their design method. Screw anchors are literally screwed into the soil, which generates a low level of noise and vibration. They are easily removed and have a great capacity. The behaviour of screw anchors while subjected to complex loading generated by wind and waves will be studied through experimental small-scale modelling and numerical modelling. A comprehensive and reliable design procedure will be developed based on all these results and made available for the industry.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз