Spanish engineering firm Saitec Offshore Technologies and offshore wind player RWE have launched the DemoSATH Lab initiative to carry out further environmental monitoring studies around the floating wind demonstrator deployed off the Basque coast.
The DemoSATH floating offshore wind turbine has been operational at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) testing area at Armintza since September 2023 and is providing first-hand insights into the challenges of operating floating wind turbines on the open sea.
Under the collaboration between Saitec and RWE, the DemoSATH Lab research will study the platform's interactions with the environment focusing on the possible impact on birds, the emission of underwater noise and the interactions of marine life with the structure.
The program will last until at least the end of 2025 in order to span multiple seasons and weather conditions.
The DemoSATH Lab research areas will span bird interactions, underwater noise, and monitoring of marine ecosystem biodiversity.
“The knowledge acquired, based on the experience in DemoSATH Lab will allow Saitec Group to improve the ecological fit of SATH technology and develop floating offshore wind projects respectful to the marine environment,” said Javier Del Real, Head of Environment and Stakeholder Engagement at Saitec Offshore Technologies.
“The DemoSATH Lab research will help us to increase our understanding of key biodiversity aspects of floating offshore wind turbines, such as underwater noise and bird interactions during operation. This will help us to ensure our future development of floating offshore wind is undertaken in coexistence with nature,” said Martin Dörnhöfer, Director of Floating Wind at RWE Offshore Wind.
With a capacity of 2 MW, the DemoSATH demonstrator was installed in September 2023. Its annual production is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 2,000 Spanish households.
As a result of this project, floating offshore wind technology was introduced into Spain's energy mix for the first time. The commissioning marked the beginning of a two-year operational period to gather data about the behavior of the ‘Swinging Around Twin Hull’ - SATH technology, developed by Saitec Offshore Technologies.