A Spanish group consisting of 20 companies and 25 research organizations has presented a floating wind turbine prototype that can withstand harsh marine conditions and improve energy production.

The floating turbine is one of the results of project ‘Ocean Líder’ (Ocean Renewable Energy Leaders), led by the engineering firm Iberdrola Ingeniería. The floating wind turbines can produce offshore wind energy in very deep water. This is very valuable for countries like Spain, which have almost no continental shelf.

The use of floating technology cuts the price of putting a wind farm in place as well as the time it takes: the entire turbine can be built while in port and later towed by boat at very low cost.

The project has also done research into new tools to take advantage of wave energy and sea currents.

The consortium has benefited from the support of CDTI, Spain’s Center for Industrial Technological Development (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial) and the State Fund for Local Investment (Fondo Estatal de Inversión Local), among others.