TetraSpar Floating Wind Turbine Pilot Installed
The TetraSpar floating wind turbine pilot has been successfully installed outside of Karmøy in Norway. The electricity generated by the TetraSpar pilot will be transmitted through UNITECH’s inter-array cable, marking the first high voltage power cable ever produced on the west coast of Norway.
The floating wind turbine is seaborne and will soon be ready to start generating energy, wrote Shell in a Twitter message 30 July.
Press release from UNITECH - 10 August 2021:
UNITECH ENERGY congratulates Shell, Stiesdal, RWE and TEPCO for the successful installation of their TetraSpar floating wind turbine pilot.
On 10th August UNITECH will join Tina Bru, the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Edmund Nygaard from Lyse and Jannicke Hilland from BKK as guests of Marianne Olsnes, Managing Director of Shell as they conduct a boat tour of the Zephyros (Hywind Demo) and TetraSpar Demonstrator. Following the tour UNITECH will present their patented Zephyros inter-array cables and associated floating wind turbine technologies.
The electricity generated by the TetraSpar pilot will be transmitted through UNITECH’s inter-array cable, marking the first high voltage power cable ever produced on the west coast of Norway.
During a time when many European manufacturers are abandoning the production of high voltage cables, UNITECH has developed the next generation of subsea dynamic power transmission cables, the Zephyros Super Cable.
Bernt Hellesøe’s novel approach to the redesign of high voltage subsea dynamic cables has made the transmission of 66kV resolving the flaws of the previous generation of cables possible, ensuring a failure-free cable by design.
Key Points of UNITECH’s patented High Voltage Subsea Dynamic Cable:
- An embedded tensile steel stress member at the core is surrounded by aluminum alloy conductors which drastically reduces the electromagnetic fields associated with conventional high voltage subsea cables.
- The adoption of conventional high-quality materials significantly reduces the cost of manufacture whilst minimizing production breakdowns and the associated delivery delays.
- The unmatched tensile ability of the high tensile core minimizes the need for heavy steel armoring, further reducing the materials required to improve gross weight.
- The cable’s compact form enables the production of longer lengths without joints.
- Lighter and more compact form factor enables use of smaller vessels for cable laying operations.
UNITECH’s high voltage subsea dynamic cable solution offers increased flexibility and strength, yet presents within a lighter frame enabling the inherent dynamic ability necessary to achieve the holy grail in the cable global hang-off sector.
UNITECH’s unique collection of experience, patented technologies and assets gathered from the Oil & Gas industries over a 35 year period enables them to realize their vertically integrated value chain proposition to shape the future of offshore floating wind in a way that no other company could dare to claim.
UNITECH’s resources include and rely on:
- UNITECH’s Zephyros 1 – the world’s first floating wind turbine
- Marine Energy Technology (MET) Centre Concession access.
The MET center plays a central role in the development of floating offshore wind technologies in the region, with UNITECH’s Zephyros 1 acting as the main hub for all downstream activities.
One example of the role that this consortium plays is embodied in the TetraSpar project, which has been a made possible by use of the MET Centre’s concessions in enabling them to establish their operation.
UNITECH’s resources (CONT’D).
- Establishing Zephyros 1 as a hub for present and future innovative floating wind turbine designs, the Norwegian government has invested through the Sustainable Energy mechanism.
- Floating Wind Turbine Design Base
- Cable Manufacturing Facility
- Thunder Bay Wind Turbine Production and Assembly Facility
- UNITECH R&D Centre
- Procuring Assembly and Installation Vessel
- Patented Super Cables
- Patented Giga Factory for cable manufacturing
UNITECH’s Q4/2021 GAME-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY ROLL-OUT
Marking the culmination of decades-long R&D, in Q4 2021, Bernt Hellesøe will realize the next generation of patented high voltage subsea transmission and distribution super cable technologies. These technologies will be deployed in a floating wind park in a newly established offshore concession area.
Supported by Innovation Norway and the EU Energy Commission, UNITECH Energy will manufacture and deploy the patented inter-array cable applications and cable global hang off technologies within a next-gen wind park to fully demonstrate the paradigm shift in offshore floating wind technologies that they are proud to bring to market.
From cable production, to mooring platform deployment, to grid tied transmission and distribution solutions, the future of floating offshore wind is UNITECH.
UNITECH Offshore part of UNITECH Energy Group
Head Of Technology and Chairman:
Bernt Hellesøe
E-mail: bernt.hellesøe@unitechenergy.com
CEO UNITECH Energy Group:
Gunnar Birkeland
E-mail: gunnar.birkeland@unitechenergy.com
UNITECH Offshore AS
C. Sundts gate 51
5004 Bergen
NORWAY
+47 55 300 570
