The photo is sourced from t-omegawind.com
The development’s main feature is unusual arrangement of the supporting framework: the wind generator has not one, but four towers, placed completely underwater. Two pairs of “legs” are constructed in the pyramid form with blades affixed to its top. The pyramid is kept afloat due to square shape of a base, also due to ballast usage, which after sailing into the sea will be dropped to the sea bottom. The wind turbine will swing about its axis, and thus, will always face the wind, concurrently without sensors, motors, and turret mechanisms.
The key advantage of the structure is high resistivity to stormy weather: the prototype during testing in wave reservoir kept stability against waves, equivalent to full scale, with heights between 18 and 30 metres. According to Omega-T’s assessment, the structure of wind generator will be 20% lighter and 30% cheaper than the conventional coastal generators. The savings will be achieved, among others, due to lesser steel costs: the conventional offshore wind generators’ towers have steel layer thickness 3 inches (7.6 cm), then the commercial peer of the Omega-T will have no more than 0.5 inch (1.3 cm).
The innovation might give a boost for marine wind energy. Global power of all power units, operating in high seas, by 2021 end was 524 megawatts (MW), concurrently for the coastal wind generators this indicator reached 55.7 gigawatts (GW), according to data of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
