A Norwegian company has been working on a unique wind energy concept called “Windcatcher” offshore floating facility.
It will be a gigantic floating wind farm made up of hundreds of tiny turbines packed together, rather than single, giant ones. This is the vision of the company Wind Catching Systems (WCS).
A major milestone has been achieved: the Windcatcher has received certification from DNV, a leading global classification agency. This green light means the design is technically feasible and can move to the next stage.
In a LinkedIn post, Norwegian Offshore Wind applauded the Windcatcher project, highlighting its potential to revolutionize the offshore wind industry.
“This is an important milestone towards the construction our first commercial demonstrator unit,” WCS CEO Ole Heggheim stated in the pos t .
Windcatcher- the project concept
The Windcatcher is a floating offshore wind farm concept that replaces traditional, large turbines with multiple small wind 1MW turbines, claiming to double the energy output. These innovative turbines can catch 2.5 times more energy per square meter of wind flow than a standard three-blade turbine design.
The unique towering design of wind turbine clusters looks like a “floating wall of wind.”
The company states that a massive complex of little turbines will be capable of generating 40MW of power in the future.
As per RechargeNews, WCS has commenced the application procedure for a demonstration project license on the coast of Oygarden in southwest Norway.
In the distant future, the company aims to add units with a capacity of up to 126 MW.
With an NKr9.3 million ($900,000) investment from Norway’s Enova fund, WCS is creating a prototype of their unique Windcatcher design. The Windcatcher intends to reduce the cost of floating wind power to €40-60 per MWh.
The Windcatcher is designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the open sea. It’s a modular system, which can be scaled up or down depending on energy needs. Each unit is connected to a central substation, which then transmits the electricity to the grid.
Approval in Principle
In the June press release, the company mentioned that its 40MW Windcatcher design received Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV. This is necessary for commercial demonstration of the technology.
“The objective of an AiP is to perform a third-party technical evaluation of a design to assess whether there are any conceptual showstoppers or rule compliance aspects that need improvement. As such, a successful AiP indicates the likelihood of the design meeting applicable rule criteria for future DNV classification,” the press release noted.
A physical replica of the Windcatcher was tested at the Stadt Towing Tank in Norway to determine its performance in various wave conditions. This data was used to refine and verify our computer models.
The AiP certification for the 40MW design will be the first of four projected units in the project.
Reportedly, the Windcatcher also has the potential to produce green hydrogen. This versatile fuel can be used for various applications, from transportation to industry.
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