"Floating offshore wind is a sufficiently competitive market."
David Caracosa, chief executive officer of Saitec Offshore Technologies, drew a line against concerns about high project costs for floating offshore wind when met on December 2 at BiMEP, near the coast of Bizkaia in the Basque Country in northern Spain. He argued that it is premature to judge economic viability based on the current situation alone, given that the market is still in its early stages. Saitec Offshore Technologies, spun off from Saitec Engineering in 2016, developed SATH, a concrete floating platform for offshore wind turbines. The company is currently participating in bids for offshore wind projects across various countries and pursuing business expansion.
Floating offshore wind differs from the conventional fixed-bottom method, which anchors structures to the seabed. Instead, wind turbines are installed on floating vessels that are kept in position by mooring systems. The technology is drawing attention as a way to expand offshore wind capacity, since turbines can be installed in waters too deep for fixed-bottom installation.
Fixed-bottom also required high initial costs; major growth expected from 2032
CEO David cited a floating offshore wind project operating in France as an example demonstrating price competitiveness. He said, "In one current French project, electricity costs are calculated at around 86 to 93 euros per megawatt-hour, and considering that fixed-bottom offshore wind, which began in the 1990s, never fell below 100 euros per megawatt-hour until 2020, this is a very interesting result." He went on to assert, "Once the market becomes fully active and large-scale projects increase, costs can certainly come down."
Saitec Offshore Technologies is advancing floating offshore wind projects in France, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Among confirmed contracts is a site in France where three 700-megawatt offshore wind installations will be built. CEO David emphasized, "Engineering solutions will be supplied and platform manufacturing will follow."
The company continues testing at BiMEP, a grid-connected offshore demonstration test site located off the coast of Bizkaia, to refine SATH technology. BiMEP is jointly owned by the Basque Energy Agency and the Energy Diversification and Saving Institute and has been operating since 2015. DemoSATH, installed there, is Spain's first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine, commissioned in 2023.
CEO David projected that the floating offshore wind market will fully open around 2032 to 2033, as large-scale commercial projects currently undergoing bidding in Europe are expected to begin full operation from that period.
Basque companies expanding in floating offshore wind; high value-added expected
In fact, companies in the Basque Country are expanding their operations in preparation for the floating offshore wind market to flourish. BCNaiMarine, which supplies mooring systems to major domestic shipbuilders including HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean, as well as to companies worldwide, recently expanded into mooring chains for floating offshore wind. Javier Aguirre, renewable energy project sales director at BCNaiMarine, whom we met the same day, said, "If the market grows as currently projected, we will be able to supply considerable volumes of mooring chain annually, and since floating offshore wind requires more chain than existing floating liquefied natural gas production facilities or floating production, storage and offloading vessels, profitability is substantial."
The government and domestic companies are undertaking research, development and demonstration of floating offshore wind, but progress has been slow. The Firefly floating offshore wind project pursued by Norwegian energy company Equinor in Ulsan was halted. However, local industry officials showed no disagreement on the long-term growth potential of floating offshore wind.
Director Aguirre said, "We are aware that market growth has been slower than we expected, but once the commercialization stage is passed and related regulations in countries worldwide improve, it can deliver much higher added value." He added, "We are hopeful that related projects will be pursued in Korea, centered on the Busan coast and other areas."
Original Korean article: Money Today
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
