BW Ideol says it continues to see strong operational results from its five-year-old 2 MW Floatgen demonstrator wind turbine, showing a capacity factor of nearly 60% over the last three months and production of 25 GWh since its 2018 commissioning.
France’s first and only floating wind turbine, Floatgen is mounted on BW Ideol’s patented Damping Pool foundation, capable of handling wind speeds up to 134 km/h and 10.5 meters of maximum wave height.
“Floatgen – one of the few floating wind turbines currently in operation across the globe – continues to deliver outstanding results in terms of reliability, efficiency and production. It keeps on validating themerits of our unique floating offshore wind technology, even in the harshest environments,” says Paul de la Guérivière, CEO of BW Ideol.
“Such repeated performance, high availability and consequently high capacity factor underlines the benefits of floating wind and its ability to capture the best possible wind resources without depth constraints, contributing to a much needed energy resilience in the process,” he adds.
Floatgen is equipped with the world’s first concrete hull for floating offshore wind. It is operating in 33 meters of water depth off the coast of Le Croisic in western France. It provides electricity to approximately 3,000 households.
