DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, has presented Wison Offshore & Marine (WOM) with a Verification Letter (VL) for its w.semi™ floating wind foundation. This VL demonstrates the technical feasibility and commercial readiness of the technology, and concludes the first stage of the certification process of this new concept floating wind /platform for floating and installation at water depths ranging from 50 m and up.
“Since we successfully delivered China’s first floating wind platform in summer 2021,Wison Offshore and Marine has accelerated the development of offshore windtechnology. Our goal is to build the floaters in China for Europe and the North American markets. We are continuously refining our design of w.semi™ with many of the supporting technologies. Securing certification is the key aspect of our technology development, and we are very pleased to reach this important milestone in the certification process with DNV”, explains Dr. Weimin Chen, Director of WOM’s Wind Technology.
“DNV has been working with WOM to advance the w.semi™ technology since 2020”, explains Kim Sandgaard-Mørk, Executive Vice President for Renewables Certification at DNV. “We are proud to bring our extensive offshore experiences into China as certification is very important for demonstrating the performance, reliability and commercial viability of new technologies and concepts. Mitigating risks via certification is particularly valuable for floating offshore wind projects in securing project finance and demonstrating operational application.”
Floating wind turbines give access to abundant wind resources over deep water – at least four times as much ocean surface space compared with bottom-fixed wind. This increases flexibility insite selection, including the possibility to target areas with higher windspeed, and those with lower social and environmental impacts. According to DNV’s latest Energy Transition Outlook report, floating offshore wind is anticipated to generate 15% of all offshore wind energy by 2050. To put this into context, this is the equivalent to a development of more than 3,000 times the size of Hywind Tampen, the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm, currently under construction in Norway.
Source:Wison Offshore
