Introduction to Floating Offshore Wind:

An opportunity for Island Communities?

February 2014

Presentation Overview

About Source Low Carbon LLP

Floating Wind Foundation Technology Overview
Business Case for Floating Wind
Path to Commercialisation
Island Nations a new power source?
Leading Markets
Focus: Floating Wind in Scotland

About Source Low Carbon LLP

Offshore Renewables Advisory and Development Services Partnership.

Established in 2013 by 3 partners, each with over 10yrs experience in UK
offshore wind and marine energy
UK based, registered in Scotland
Experience as developers, regulators and government advisors

Project Development: floating wind opportunities, commercialisation

of technologies for near-term deployment

Advisory Services:
Policy and Regulatory: site selection, strategic environmental
assessments. Eg designing and managing offshore wind & tidal
tender for Isle of Man Government
Development Services: Advising UK offshore wind, marine
renewables developers
Walney phase 3:
750MW

Neart na Gaoithe:
450MW

Floating Wind Technologies

Spar Buoy
Large cylindrical
buoy stabilises
turbine using ballast
Large draft
Eg Hywind: Full-scale
prototype deployed
since 2009
Demonstration array
planned in Scotland

Semi-Sub

Tension Leg Platform

Buoyant
structure, semi
submerged
Tensioned
mooring lines
anchored on
seabed

Combines the main

principles of TLP, Spar
Eg Principle Power:
Windfloat: full-scale
demo 2011
Relatively shallow
draft

Concrete Floater
Ideol Floatgen
Concrete structure
shallow draft,
compact size
Damping Pool to
reduce motion

Water Depth (m)

Business Case for Floating Wind

Opens up new areas for offshore wind: Current technologies limited to 40-50m.
Cost Reduction: alternative solution for existing projects with marginal economics.
Local Economic benefits: jobs, supply chain
Many advantages are technology-specific, general benefits include:

Development
Reduced
impacts on
some
receptors, eg
noise for
marine
mammals, fish
Reduced
ground survey
work

Construction
Assembled
onshore,
transferred to
site
Cheaper, more
widely
available
vessels (no
jack-ups)
Reduced
installation
costs and time

Operations
Can be
returned to
shore for
significant
maintenance

Decommissioning
Complete
removal

Path to Commercialisation

New structures, need to go through different stages of development before coming

on to the market.
Importance of perception by investors: increasing reliability, reducing cost
Some key Issues: integration of wind turbine onto platform, dynamic cables

R&D, Pilot stage

Now

Planning
Underway

Post
2020

Single Prototypes
Demonstration
Arrays
Commercialisation

R&D on concepts, designs, modelling.

Testing downscaled model in controlled environment

Testing full scale model to assess concept maturity

7 experimental substructures (4 in Europe, 2 in
Japan, 1 USA)

Small number of full scale devices.

Validates overall principles, manufacturing, installation, O&M
UK Crown Estate Round to award demo sites
Generation by Q3 2018
Serial production, commercial deployment
Much innovation is still needed to ensure reliability,
commercial viability
Need for government support

Island nations a new power source?

Advantages

Climate change
Direct access to grid coastal communities
Will become cheaper than imported fuels
Low impact infrastructure
In many cases can be deployed from small ports

No need to reinvent the wheel: technologies, expertise, skills developed

elsewhere can be imported. Eg:

Environmental assessment, permitting procedures

Exchange of data and information
Requirements for ports, supply chain
Standards and standardisation

Time to plan:
policy, legislative framework, spatial planning
Caribbean-specific issues: eg hurricane risk

Leading Markets for Floating Wind

>90% worlds capacity of offshore wind

2013: 5GW installed, 60,000 jobs
Supportive policy, legislative
environment, underpinned by renewable
energy targets.
Driven by need to reduce cost, to build
further from shore, deeper waters.
Floating technologies would unlock
Atlantic, Mediterranean and deep North
Sea areas.
Particular opportunities for Portugal,
Spain, France.
Funding programmes: EU and member
state level (France, UK).

Post Fukushima impetus

>80% offshore wind resource is in deep
waters
Government funding for demonstrators
Fukushima Forward: prototype
demonstration programme
Using wind turbines designed for
areas where wind speed exceeds class
1 design values
Good resource, intensive power demand
near coast
Leasing, permitting processes in place
Department of Energy funding initiative:
3 of 6 projects competing for funds (up
to $47m) are floating.
Embryonic offshore wind industry
Only offshore turbine in US waters
is on a floating foundation

Market Focus: Scotland, UK

Deeper waters, environmental and other constraints near to shore

Seeking first mover advantage in deeper water technologies
Scottish Government: financial, political, legislative support
Renewables Obligation (RO): higher level of support for demonstration arrays.
Generation by Q3 2018
Planning, permitting, environmental
Proposed Projects
Hywind II pilot project Agreement for Lease awarded
Crown Estate leasing programme: UK wide, RO incentive to locate in Scotland
Good opportunities for learning, strong appetite to share those lessons
Worlds largest offshore wind programme:
4GW generating, 1.5GW in construction, 40GW in development
Potential for commercial deployment of floating technologies on many of
these projects
Project pipeline supports the progress to commercialisation

Summary

Floating Offshore Wind has significant potential reduce costs, open up deeper areas
Local economic benefits
Strong mid-long term potential for Island communities: post 2020
Many different technologies, several prototypes already deployed
Progress in key markets may accelerate commercialisation
Need for clear, stable policy: opportunity to put the right framework in place

Information sources:
European Wind Energy Association, Deep Water: The Next Step for Offshore Wind, Report
July 2013.
http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/reports/Deep_Water.pdf
The Crown Estate UK Market Potential and Technology Assessment for floating offshore
wind power, December 2012. http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/media/428739/uk-floatingoffshore-wind-power-report.pdf
Fukushima Forward: Information about the Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Project.
http://www.fukushima-forward.jp/pdf/pamphlet3.pdf

For further information:

Cathryn Hooper,
Partner, Source Low Carbon LLP
cathryn.hooper@sourcelowcarbon.com
+44 (0)7880 499962

www.sourcelowcarbon.com

www.sourcelowcarbon.com