EOLOS, Partrac deploy their tech at Welsh floating wind site

EOLOS has deployed its FLS200 floating LiDAR buoy in the waters where Wales’ first floating offshore wind farm, the 96 MW Erebus, will be built.

The Spanish floating LiDAR supplier secured a contract for the Erebus project this summer with Blue Gem Wind, a joint venture between Ireland-based blue economy developer Simply Blue Energy and French oil & gas giant Total. The contract was awarded on a turnkey basis with a separate metocean buoy being deployed along with the floating LiDAR.

The wave measuring buoy has been delivered by Partrac, with which EOLOS already partnered on several projects over the past few years, including Moray West in the UK and Oriel in Ireland, where the wind resource measurement campaign was completed at the beginning of this month.

“The candidate for the responsibility of site specific data services was put through an intensive due diligence in order for the Board of the JV to be comfortable that both offshore operations and data supply would be of the highest standard. The EOLOS team worked with their local partner Partrac to provide an agile response during the campaign and to deploy successfully”, said Hugh Kelly, Project Managing Director for Blue Gem Wind.

The floating LiDAR and the wave measurement buoy at the Erebus project, to be built some 44 kilometres off the Pembrokeshire coastline, have been installed at a location in the Celtic Sea with water depths of up to 75 metres.

Total revealed its joint floating wind project with Simply Blue Energy in Wales at the beginning of this year and, this summer, the 96 MW Erebus wind farm secured seabed rights.

“The pace at which the familiar Oil & Gas players are stepping into offshore wind development, including at the prospect stage, is breathtaking. No longer are these international behemoths sceptical of renewable energy; they are viewing offshore wind as complementary if not a potential substitute for their upstream businesses. This is a boon for the smaller developers and those in particularly betting on commercialisation of floating wind turbines in deeper waters. This is just the beginning”, said Julian Harland, Sales Director at EOLOS.

Sam Athey, Director at Partrac, said the company was comfortable to again be nominated contractor to support local marine operations, referring to familiarity with EOLOS technology and methodology of deployment.

“We were pleased to add to the scope the provision of wave-buoy services, allowing the team to provide joint deployment operations and future maintenance, optimising vessel use”, Sam Athey said.

The Blue Gem joint venture between Simply Blue Energy and Total was established to develop multiple floating offshore wind sites in Welsh waters of the Celtic Sea.

The 96 MW Erebus, which represents the first demonstration site, will feature up to ten turbines on WindFloat foundations.