Continental Europe Gets First Commercial Floating Offshore Wind Farm

The first WindFloat Atlantic platform with MHI Vestas' fully installed turbine is on its way from the Spanish port of Ferrol to its final destination 20 km off the coast of Viana do Castelo in Portugal. Once at their final location, the three floating structures - with a height of 30 meters and a 50 m distance between the individual columns - will be installed at the first floating wind farm in continental Europe.

The WindFloat Atlantic project marks an important milestone for the offshore wind industry as it is the world's first semi-submersible floating wind farm. In the future, this will make it possible to exploit the previously untouched wind reserves in transitional and deep waters.

The platform, which has set off from Ferrol's outer harbour, consists of a floating platform and a wind turbine from MHI Vestas - with almost 9 MW the largest turbine ever installed on a floater. In the coming months, two more platforms will be added to complete the wind farm, which with its installed capacity of around 25 MW will be able to generate enough energy to supply the equivalent of 60,000 households annually.

Europe's first floating wind farm is Equionor's Hywind project, located off the coast of Scotland.