Gazelle Wind Power taps Vienna Consulting Engineers to provide monitoring and analysis for sustainable floating offshore wind pilot project

Gazelle Wind Power (Gazelle), the developer of a breakthrough floating offshore wind platform, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vienna Consulting Engineers ZT GmbH (VCE), an independent consulting firm based in Vienna, Austria, specializing in infrastructure design, construction phase management, environmental consulting, structural health monitoring, and offshore structures. VCE will provide design services—including load capacity determination, inspection planning, performance assessment, and more—as well as monitoring and analysis for Gazelle’s initial 2MW pilot plant at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN).

“As we continue our journey to bring our floating offshore wind technology to commercialization, having the expertise of those familiar with designing and monitoring these structures will be vital,” said CEO Jon Salazar. “With their project development acumen and firm reputation as an authority in structural engineering and plant health monitoring, environmental consulting, structural inspection, and much more, VCE will provide valuable input and insight into making our initial pilot project a success.”

Gazelle’s unique hybrid floating wind platform is lighter and more agile than current designs and also boasts the advantage of faster deployment out in deeper waters.

Founded in 1986, VCE operates in four principal lines of business: the transportation sector, the building and industrial sector, the development sector, and structural health identification and life cycle engineering. The firm also has experience providing consulting, monitoring, and design analysis on existing offshore wind structures, providing motion analysis and concept design for two separate offshore wind platform projects. To date, VCE has successfully completed more than 7,000 contracts in 71 countries. The company also has extensive experience in the monitoring, design, and analysis of several offshore structures.

“Gazelle is providing a unique solution to a widespread problem, namely, how society can take advantage of stronger winds and accelerate renewable energy generation,” said VCE Exec. Robert Schedler. “We believe that Gazelle’s innovative floating offshore wind technology will be a key enabler to the offshore wind market and look forward to taking it to the next stage of development.”

Having raised more than $14 million in initial funding in 2021, Gazelle has already made progress toward its goal of unlocking the massive offshore wind market with recent deals with Maersk Supply Service and Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group to utilize their respective services at the PLOCAN pilot project. The company was recently named a Global Winner at the Uniting Water Energy Food Finals, being selected out of more than 1,800 companies. Gazelle was also named a finalist for two S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards: Emerging Technology of the Year Award and Rising Star Company Award.