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Continued From Page 24 established and Principle Power continues to seek new marine renewable energy test sites . With coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea , the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel , France ’ s Renewable Energy Syndicate estimated France ’ s offshore wind potential to be 90 TWh annually , which translates to 90000 GWh . Given that the Mediterranean is particularly deep , France foresees harvesting a significant portion of the resource in its waters . So far , France has approved a total of four pilot floating wind projects .
In 2010 , Spain reinforced its credentials as a world leader in renewable energy by exporting electricity to France for the first time after a year of strong wind and heavy rain . By 2017 , the roles were changing . Reuters wrote , “ France is set to become Europe ’ s second biggest generator of electricity from wind power behind Germany by 2030 .”
Providentially , Principle Power established offices in Provence , in the town of Aix-en- Provence , in 2013 . Christian Cermelli , Chief Naval Architect , with an intriguing Ph . D . in Philosophy , Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering from U . C . Berkeley , heads up the office in Aix . Cermelli is the co-inventor of the WindFloat . With fellow entrepreneur , Dominique Roddier ( Ph . D ., Naval Architecture ), whom he met at Berkeley , Cermelli is bringing the unique solution to life .
When Cermelli and Roddier were working at Shell and ExxonMobil , respectively , on offshore platforms , the seed for WindFloat was planted . When they realized the economic potential of creating a scaled-down , floating oil and gas platform , they left to start their own company in California . Working on consulting projects in the wind energy industry to finance their startup , the two engineers put two and two together and their concept of the scaled-down , floating platform met the wind turbine . WindFloat was born .
Conventional fixed-turbine offshore wind structures are constrained to water depths of less than 50 or 60 meters because of their need to be fixed to the sea floor . “ Floating platforms open up areas of the sea not previously suitable for offshore wind power , including areas where the continental shelf drops off too fast for fixed turbines to be viable .” The plan is to place wind farms at least 20 km from shore to reduce the visual impact . Further addressing environmental issues , the platforms can be located away from seabird gatherings , fishing grounds and shipping channels . The platforms can be constructed close to shore and delivered to their destination by low-cost ships . This eliminates heavy , expensive vessels to construct the turbines out at sea on permanent foundations .
When asked if the structures will be left in place when they are no longer in use , Cermelli replied , “ Floating wind turbines are easy to remove . The platforms will be towed back to shore after about 20 years in service , where they can be refurbished and re-installed with the next generation of wind turbines . The mooring lines , anchors and electrical cables will be completely removed and brought back to shore for recycling . The seabed will therefore be returned to its original condition .”
In 2016 , Principle Power France received the “ Invest in Provence Award ” during a celebration held at the U . S . Consulate in Marseille , France . In receiving the award , Cermelli said , “ This award shows our commitment to this region . We ’ re very pleased to have the opportunity to highlight some of the important work we ’ re doing for floating offshore wind , right here in Provence .”
Principle Power ' s WindFloat
Photo : Principle Power
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