A NEW BALLASTED FLOATING SUPPORT FOR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE

In the framework of the developments of renewable marine energy and especially offshore wind energy, different design options of floating support have already been presented in the community such as barge-type, spar-type or semi-submersible-type floating structures. In the present paper, a study conducted by IFPEN is presented in order to design of a new floating platform concept dedicated to a multi-megawatt wind turbine. The design of the concept consists in a circular platform ballasted with water and concrete, anchored to the sea bed through a spread mooring system and designed to accommodate a multi-megawatt (in the range of 5 to 8 MW) offshore wind turbine. The paper focuses on the methodology used in the conceptual and preliminary design phases and then on the major results obtained on the performance of the concept for a wide range of design load cases. The results, at current level, show that the concept is viable and interesting, and that the design can be improved further while requiring some additional validation.