This certification, awarded by one of the leading certification companies DNV, marks a significant milestone in the development of BayFloat and in advancing floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) technology for global deployment.
The certification process, conducted in accordance with DNV-SE-0422:2021-09 ‘Certification of floating wind turbines’ scheme, including DNV-ST-0119:2021-06 ‘Floating wind turbine structures’ as being the governing standard, involved rigorous in-house assessments and plausibility checks by DNV. The assessment concluded that the BayWa r.e. concrete floating substructure, BayFloat and mooring system design is feasible for further development and qualifies for DNV concept level certification.
“We are thrilled to have received concept certification from DNV” said Ricardo Rocha, Technical Director Offshore Wind at BayWa r.e. “This milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and our engineering consultant, Ramboll, who supported us in progressing our original patented concept through its development and optimization. The certification not only validates the maturity of BayWa r.e.’s proprietary floating wind turbine substructure concept, BayFloat, but also demonstrates its readiness for industrial-scale deployment. It further underscores BayFloat’s potential for project-specific optimisation, enabling adaptation to existing port infrastructure and locally available supply chains in a cost-efficient manner.”
BayWa r.e.’s design management ensured that requirements on industrialised fabrication, assembly, project execution and O&M in future large floating wind farms were considered throughout the whole design process, as this is considered of particular importance for the commercial viability of concrete floating wind technologies.
The next step for BayWa r.e. will involve constructing and monitoring a reduced-scale version of this innovative substructure. This phase will be pivotal in demonstrating the design's constructability and industrialisation, addressing the main challenges identified during the concept certification phase, and paving the way for large-scale deployment.
“The successful certification of BayWa r.e.'s concrete floating substructure and mooring system underscores the robustness and feasibility of their design. We are pleased to have supported BayWa r.e. in this endeavour” added Andreas Manjock, Principal Engineer and Project Manager at DNV.
Ramboll, world leader in offshore wind foundations design, has contributed significantly to the design and certification process, providing design services, expert insights and engineering advice that were integral to achieving this milestone.
“In this project, Ramboll applied its latest industry-leading floating-specific design processes for concrete substructures, covering all required DNV checks” said Denis Matha, Ramboll’s Global Head of Floating Wind. “This enabled not only a time-efficient design process, but also ensured that simplifications and omissions often seen in earlier stages were minimised, and that the design was de-risked well beyond formal requirements - even at the concept certification stage. We are pleased to have supported BayWa r.e. in advancing their concept to the next development stage.”
Floating offshore wind technology is rapidly gaining traction as a viable solution for harnessing wind energy in deep waters where traditional fixed-bottom turbines are not feasible. According to a report from Renewable UK, the global pipeline for floating offshore wind projects has grown to 266 GW end of 2024, highlighting the immense potential of this technology to contribute to the global renewable energy mix.
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