EMECO

Floating Off-shore Windfarms

The Dutch company, Blue H. launched the world first floating wind turbine off the coast of Italy in Decmember 2007. Now, a Scotish company, Highlands and Islands, is in talks with Blue H to launch Brittains first folating wind farm that would be achored off the coast of Scotland.

The new generation of wind turbines resemble small oil rigs and can be towed so far out to sea that they cannot be seen from the shore. Once in position, 80ft-wide weights anchor the turbines to the seabed and protect them in stormy weather. The weights are then filled with gravel via a chute.

The pilot scheme would avert local opposition to land-based turbines, boost Scotland's off-shore development, and has been welcomed by renewable energy organisations.

the turbines can be placed far enough out to sea so that they can't be seen from the shore, yet are close enough to be incorporated into the grid. They environementally friendly too, causing relatively little damage to the seabed and leaving nothing but the counterweights when they are decommissioned, whihc will act as artifical reefs for marine life.

Source: The Sunday Times  April 2008