Offshore staff
PERTH – As part of the EuropeWave Programme, Bombora Wave Power says that it has successfully completed tank testing of a floating foundation system suitable for the InSPIRE solution, where mWave technology is combined with a wind turbine onto a single floating offshore platform.
An adapted version of the semisubmersible INSPIRE platform, developed in partnership with TechnipFMC, underwent tank testing evaluations to confirm the system loads and dynamics at the FloWave test facility at the University of Edinburgh.
The InSPIRE Project brings together Bombora’s patented mWave technology which converts wave energy into electricity, with TechnipFMC’s integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (iEPCI) system. This tank testing program follows the Pre-FEED phase of the InSPIRE Project completed earlier in 2022 based on the integration of a 4MW mWave solution with a 10MW wind turbine on a single semi-submersible floating foundation system.
Head of Loads and Modelling at Bombora, Peter Arnold, said: “The integrated platform was rigorously tested under a wide range of conditions, including extreme waves. Final analysis is currently underway, where the results of the wave tank test are compared with those predicted using computational modelling. This represents another significant milestone for the InSPIRE Project which began back in 2021, when we initially launched a detailed investigation into the opportunity of combining mWave onto floating offshore wind platforms. Two key activities were subsequently identified to progress the project towards the detailed platform design phase. Firstly, the tank test evaluation and secondly the large-scale performance testing of the mWave technology in our flagship Pembrokeshire Demonstration Project, due for deployment in the next few months. The tank testing assessment will provide essential optimization data leading to a detailed design of the combined InSPIRE mWave and wind wave platform due to commence early in 2023.”
08.18.2022
