Pioneering technology leader ABB said it has secured a major contract from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), to deliver its pioneering WindSTAR transformers specifically designed for floating wind turbines.
The WindFloat Atlantic windfarm will be positioned 20 km off the coast of Viana de Castelo, Portugal, in a location where the sea is 100 m deep. Traditional offshore wind turbines are secured onto the seabed and can only be used in depths of approximately 40 to 50 m, said a statement from ABB.
The transformers will be installed in each of the three turbines on WindFloat Atlantic, a floating, offshore wind farm, comprising the world’s largest and most powerful wind turbines ever installed on a floating foundation.
The 8.4 megawatt (MW) wind turbines are 190-m-tall to blade tip, more than double the height of the Statue of Liberty, it stated.
Floating wind farms comprise wind turbines mounted on floating structures that allow the turbines to generate electricity in water depths where fixed-foundation turbines are not feasible. These have the potential to significantly increase the sea area available for offshore wind farms, especially in countries with limited shallow waters.
Just three of these turbines will provide enough electricity for over 18,000 households in Portugal. The WindFloat Atlantic windfarm will come into operation next year.
This floating solution opens up large regions of previously unusable ocean to renewable offshore wind power generation, the statement added.
As per the deal, ABB will supply its WindSTAR power transformers that are specifically engineered to be extra resilient against strong vibrations and extreme and sudden movements encountered on floating wind farms, said a senior official.
"These transformers are another pioneering ABB technology innovation which will facilitate the integration of more renewables into the grid,” remarked Markus Heimbach, the managing director of ABB’s transformers business unit.
The compact transformers are all designed to fit into the tower of offshore turbines. These 66 kilovolt (kV) transformers for floating applications, present an important opportunity to facilitate offshore wind farms installed in deeper water, he stated.
"ABB technologies continue to shape the evolving grid with solutions that help run the world without consuming the earth," he added.
