The photo is sourced from offshorewind.biz
The platform is a tetra-lateral oblique pyramid, the bottom side of which is a triangle foundation, where just one of the angles is fixed on the seal bottom, while the other two sides of the triangle can change their position as the sea waves go. The angles of the foundation are the supporting points for fixing the wind generator, which is represented by the upper sides of the oblique pyramid. The vertex of this pyramid carries the impeller rotating with the wind. Such design assures the rigidity, which standard wind turbines with the centre of gravity displaced upwards lack in the marine conditions.
The PLOCAN platform was installed in the open sea in November 2022. The company specialists tested its hydrodynamic performance and its robustness against violent storms for four months, and then started the electricity generation process. The trials are to prepare X1 Wind to manufacture a fully-featured commercial analogue three times bigger than the prototype.
The project is in line with the trend for new types of wind generators capable of being used in deep waters. Earlier another solution was proposed by T-Omega start-up, which developed a prototype of the wind generator with four towers positioned completely above the water. Two pairs of “legs” are assembled in the form of a pyramid with an impeller at the top. The structure stays afloat thanks to the square-shaped foundation and the use of ballast, which is discharged to the bottom upon going into the open sea. The advantage of this design is high robustness against the storms: the 1:60 prototype was tested in the “wave tank” of the University of Glasgow and could withstand the waves equivalent to 18-30 metres high.
