Ørsted Forms Consortium Of Expert Offshore Wind Companies
Ørsted Offshore Wind has announced a partnership with Falck Renewables - an onshore wind community engagement specialist, and BlueFloat Energy, which is an expert in floating wind projects. The consortium of energy organisations will work together to acquire seabed leases - in the upcoming Scotwind leasing round - for locations that would be beneficial to large-scale floating wind projects.
An Advantageous Combination of Knowledge
As the pioneer of the first-ever offshore wind project in 1991, Ørsted is the world-leading company in terms of the number of developments it has made in offshore wind energy generation. The partnership will see the company involved with Bluefloat, which will bring a unique knowledge base to future projects, as well as its development experience. Meanwhile, Falck Renewables will join the consortium to offer global project development expertise and its previous engagement with Scotland.
“We recently announced our strategic decision to pursue floating wind opportunities and to drive the commercialisation of this technology,” says Martin Neubert, Chief Commercial Officer at Ørsted. “Today’s announcement reaffirms Ørsted’s commitment to this exciting and rapidly developing new technology. Allying our strong in-house Development, EPC and O&M capabilities with partners that have unique hands-on experience in floating wind projects and a strong local presence in Scotland will enable us to deliver an exciting new proposition for Scotland.”
Carlos Martin, Chief Executive Officer of BlueFloat Energy, says, “Announcing our partnership with Ørsted strengthens BlueFloat Energy’s position in the floating wind market since it endorses our value proposition as a technology-neutral expert with a decade of unique experience and knowledge in developing floating wind projects. Floating wind is an emerging industry, and we are excited to announce our partnership with Ørsted. It reinforces our capabilities and creates a winning consortium for a very competitive Scotwind leasing round.”
Richard Dibley, Managing Director of Falck Renewables UK, also comments. “Falck Renewables are committed to taking an active role in the development of floating offshore wind projects, as we are convinced the technology will play a crucial role in helping to reach Scotland’s net-zero goals.”
Operation of Offshore Wind Technology
The traditional method of offshore wind generation consists of a bottom-fixed system where the turbine is mounted at the top of a structure, which is fixed to the seabed. Floating wind projects can be sited further offshore than conventional turbines by utilising a floating foundation that is anchored to the seabed by a mooring line.
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