Offshore Renewables Innovation: Two major projects, floating turbine and WaveRoller – note the involvement of the European Investment Bank in the later!
One of the world’s largest floating offshore wind turbines set sail earlier this week from Osaka Bay in Japan and is currently on its way to a site off the coast of Fukushima. The giant 5MW turbine has been developed by engineering giant Hitachi and designed by Japan Marine United Corp, according to the Japanese Wind Power Association. It is the third floating wind turbine to be installed as part of the FukushimaFORWARD initiative and is due to be installed at a site 20km off the Fukushima coast later this week. The machine is then expected to begin generating power before the end of this year. The project is being backed by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which according to local media reports said the 5MW system was the second largest floating wind turbine to ever be installed, following an earlier 7MW system that has already been installed. Click here to read more.
AW-Energy has plans to install a full-scale 350kW version of its wave energy device in Portugal next year. Finnish marine energy firm AW-Energy has received a €10m boost from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help bring its novel WaveRoller technology to market. The investment will be used to support and speed up the commercial rollout of its ocean-surge technology. The firm’s innovative near-shore device sits between eight and 20 metres below the water’s surface and uses the horizontal, back-and-forth ocean waves present along coastlines to generate electricity – setting it apart from many other marine devices which generate energy from surface movements. Click here to read more.