Bourbon Installs First Floating Turbine

Bourbon has installed a WindFloat turbine project for utility EDP off the coast of Portugal at Aguçadoura. The Paris-based marine services company deployed its Bourbon Liberty 228, an anchor handler, to install the platform and turbine.

The 2-megawatt tubine was built by Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas and the floating system was designed by Principle Power of Seattle, Washington. Standard turbines are built onshore and then towed and anchored offshore at distances that are far enough away so the turbines are not visible from the shore.

The project marks the first time an offshore turbine has been installed in the open sea of the Atlantic Ocean, according to a Bourbon statement. It is also the first deployment of a semi-submersible structure supporting a multi-megawatt wind turbine.

"In a way we are making a similar leap towards new energy resources as the oil and gas industry did in the 1970s when it began using floating structures," Alla Weinstein, Principle Power’s CEO, said.

Photo shows WindFloat platform being towed off the coast of Portugal by Bourbon Liberty 228, courtesy of Bourbon.