EnerOcean’s CEO, Pedro Mayorga, and CCO, Alexander Fairtlough, discuss how the W2Power platform is revolutionising floating offshore wind with its cutting-edge design, cost efficiency, and enhanced energy security.
Floating offshore wind is rapidly emerging as a key contributor to the transition to renewable energy, offering unique advantages over conventional fixed-bottom offshore wind farms. By enabling wind energy generation in deeper waters, floating technology opens up new opportunities for countries with limited shallow coastal areas while reducing congestion in existing offshore wind zones. Beyond expanding the available development area, floating wind addresses critical challenges such as energy security, diversification, and minimising environmental impact.
In this interview, Pedro and Alexander from EnerOcean discuss the technological innovations driving floating offshore wind forward, particularly through their W2Power twin-turbine platform. They explore how their design achieves industry-leading efficiency in steel use, the cost advantages of floating structures, and the adaptability of their technology across diverse marine environments. Additionally, they share insights on policy support, regulatory frameworks, and the next steps toward commercial-scale deployment.
Floating offshore wind is gaining much traction as a renewable energy solution. What are the main drivers behind its growing importance?
Pedro: Many countries have recognised the benefits of offshore wind, particularly in terms of energy security and supply stability. Floating offshore wind extends these advantages to regions that lack shallow waters or where the use of shallow waters is restricted due to tourism, environmental concerns, or other regulations.
Even in countries with shallow waters, floating wind expands development opportunities by utilising a larger sea area, enabling the development of wind farms in sea areas out of reach of bottom-fixed. Additionally, it allows for more dispersed installations, which is crucial given recent concerns about the underestimated wake effects of closely packed wind farms. These wake effects can impact the efficiency of adjacent farms, limiting clean energy production in already restricted spaces.
By going floating, we can extend the development area and avoid interference with existing systems. This combination of expanding market opportunities and mitigating space limitations is what’s driving the push for floating offshore wind.
Another crucial factor is energy diversification. Many nations are looking to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and floating wind helps achieve this by tapping into stronger wind resources in deeper waters where fixed-bottom turbines cannot be installed. The ability to generate power further offshore also means less visual impact, addressing some of the resistance seen in coastal communities regarding onshore or nearshore wind projects.
How does W2Power’s design achieve the lowest steel weight per megawatt compared to other floating platforms, and what advantages does this bring?
Alexander: The key to our design is keeping the turbines light and low. As turbine sizes increase, the height of the installation also rises, which increases the overturning moment on the platform. However, with our two-turbine design, the turbines are lighter and positioned lower, keeping the system’s centre of gravity closer to the water’s surface – similar to how a sailboat maintains stability.
While increasing turbine height and size makes sense for onshore and fixed-bottom installations, it’s not ideal for floating structures. The lower centre of gravity of W2Power reduces the steel requirements for the platform, making our design one of the most efficient in terms of steel weight per megawatt – potentially cutting the amount of steel needed by up to half compared to other solutions.
Another advantage is installation. Many ports currently lack the infrastructure to handle the massive cranes required for installing large, heavy turbines. Our system minimises this challenge. We can assemble our 20+ megawatt platforms in standard shipyards, avoiding the need for specialised facilities, and tow them directly to the wind farm site for installation. This dramatically reduces logistical costs and bottlenecks, which are becoming more pressing as offshore wind deployment scales up globally.
Pedro: In addition to design efficiency, we’ve invested significant effort into design validation, verification, and real-world testing. We’ve also worked extensively on obtaining third-party validation to ensure confidence in our results.
Another crucial aspect is maintenance and reliability. Long-term operational costs (OPEX) are a major factor, particularly when it comes to major component replacement. Our self-aligning system reduces some of the most complex maintenance challenges, simplifying repairs and ultimately lowering costs. By designing for easier accessibility and modularity, we can ensure faster turnaround for major component replacements and repairs, making floating wind a more economically viable long-term solution.
How does W2Power’s cost structure compare to traditional fixed-bottom offshore wind installations?
Pedro: Floating wind, including our technology, operates with a different cost structure than fixed-bottom wind. Fixed-bottom turbines have relatively low superstructure costs, but installation is extremely expensive. Deploying large components at sea requires mobilising barges and specialised vessels, making installation a significant cost driver.
In contrast, we conduct most of our assembly in port, reducing the need for costly offshore installation operations. Our main cost component lies in the floating substructure, so we have focused heavily on optimising its design to maximise efficiency and minimise expenses. Additionally, floating wind technology avoids most of the seabed preparation costs and environmental disruption risks that come with fixed-bottom turbines. This reduces permitting complexity and environmental impact assessments, which can be significant barriers in some regions.
Alexander: One factor that often gets overlooked is decommissioning. Removing fixed-bottom structures – whether suction piles or jacket foundations – is a costly process. With floating platforms, it’s much simpler. You just detach the moorings, reel in the chains, and tow the platform back to shore for dismantling. This results in a significantly lower end-of-life cost and supports the circular economy by making it easier to repurpose or recycle components.
How adaptable is W2Power to different marine environments and energy markets?
Alexander: It’s highly adaptable – more so than fixed-bottom wind, which depends on seabed conditions. Offshore floating wind platforms can be comfortably deployed in a range of depths up to 500 meters, or even deeper. While deeper waters increase mooring costs, they don’t present the same seabed limitations as fixed-bottom solutions.
Pedro: Our semi-submersible design allows for flexible mooring configurations without altering the core platform structure. We’ve also developed hybrid mooring systems using composites and chains, enabling deployment in varying depths. This means we can tailor solutions for specific market conditions. From a regulatory standpoint, standardising our manufacturing methods helps reduce costs and streamline deployment, making floating wind more scalable and commercially viable.
How do policy support and regulations impact the growth of floating offshore wind, and are there any changes EnerOcean would like to see in this context?
Pedro: Everyone appreciates having more support, especially when it comes quickly and efficiently. That’s understandable. But we also need to provide meaningful insights. We have received significant support in our development and have always taken our responsibilities seriously, particularly in using public funds and support from governmental authorities.
We have no complaints, even though the journey has been challenging. It has required hard work, but it has also yielded results. Moving forward into the next phase of commercialisation, what we need most is certainty. We need clear conditions as well as the flexibility to adapt to a constantly evolving market environment.
For instance, when support is provided to a project, it’s crucial to have well-defined rules that ensure regulatory certainty. However, these rules must also allow for flexibility – what we call indexability. If material or labour costs increase or supply sources shift due to market conditions, the support mechanisms should account for these fluctuations. This adaptability makes projects more resilient to unexpected changes.
Therefore, we urge public authorities to implement policies that not only establish clear rules but also incorporate indexability. This approach will enable the full realisation of floating wind energy’s potential.
Alexander: I also believe the government should recognise that floating wind is still an emerging industry. It’s a new sector, and we need tailored financial support mechanisms, such as (but not limited to) feed-in tariffs that reflect its current stage of development. When solar power first started, it benefited from substantial financial incentives. The same was true for fixed-bottom offshore wind. However, floating wind is expected to be competitive right away, which isn’t realistic.
We’re still in the early stages. The first projects have faced challenges, particularly in understanding how wind turbines perform on floating platforms compared to fixed ones. Issues have arisen with the towers, which were initially designed for fixed-bottom structures. Floating wind requires different engineering solutions. Fortunately, we’ve learned from the experiences of early adopters and have designed our turbines and towers specifically for floating applications. Seeing the difficulties faced by others has reinforced our conviction that our approach makes sense.
Given that we are still in the early days of floating wind, incentives, whether they are feed-in tariffs, Contracts for Difference or straightforward investment support, should be adjusted accordingly to support its development.
Pedro: When discussing policies, I think it’s important to take a broader perspective. It seems like, globally, society is losing sight of the urgent need for decarbonisation. It’s almost as if the problem has disappeared from discussions, but if we neglect this goal, we surely will regret it.
Right now, concerns about security, defence, and trade balance are taking precedence. However, at the end of the day, we have only one planet, and decarbonisation remains crucial. We need a more diverse mix of energy sources – even as some technologies become more established.
Renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, offers significant value. Expanding into floating wind allows countries and regions to harness energy from areas further offshore while also reducing land-use conflicts. Coastal regions often face space constraints, so being able to supply energy from deep-water offshore resources can minimise environmental impact.
Furthermore, energy security is a critical factor. Floating wind can play a key role in providing reliable, renewable energy, and policy decisions should reflect its broader benefits – not just its immediate economic competitiveness.
Alexander: The scale of the energy transition is massive. If we are serious about achieving it, we will need a tremendous amount of everything – solar, fixed-bottom wind, floating wind, nuclear, and more. Hopefully, in time, we can phase out the less sustainable options, but for now, we need to support all viable solutions.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
Pedro: Our main focus is cost reduction through securing value chains and optimising manufacturing. We’re also adapting our technology for new markets, including regions with typhoon-prone conditions, in collaboration with our Korean partners (a new large R&D project bilateral).
Alexander: Our next major project is the Primavera full size demonstrator, which was conceived by us and our major industrial investor as the quickest way to achieve large-scale proof of the benefits of the W2Power solution. We have a site on the island of Tenerife at a commercial port and strong local support. We’ve secured €8m in EU funding and are actively seeking additional investors. Unlike most demonstrators, which are purely research-based, Primavera is an up to 30-year commercial project offering real returns. This will be a critical step in proving W2Power’s and floating wind’s commercial viability and accelerating deployment at scale.
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