Eleven companies and 22 research centres specialising in offshore wind energy technologies have joined forces on the Azimut. Offshore Wind Energy 2020 project, for the purpose of generating the know-how required to develop a large-scale marine wind turbine using 100% Spanish technology.
The project, which Gamesa will coordinate, will involve lead partners Alstom Wind, Acciona Windpower, Iberdrola Renovables and Acciona Energía; with other participants including Técnicas Reunidas, Ingeteam, Ingeciber, Imatia, Tecnitest Ingenieros and DIgSILENT Ibérica. The project will involve a total investment of € 25 million over the next four years and will be co-financed by the participating companies.
The initiative, scheduled to finalise in 2013, is designed to establish the technological groundwork for the subsequent development, in around 2020, of a large-scale offshore wind turbine. The programme's initial objectives call for developing a turbine with unit capacity of 15MW that is capable of overcoming the technical and financial hurdles currently limiting the rollout of offshore wind energy. As for the technological areas on which the project will focus, Gamesa will head activities related to offshore wind energy capture, Acciona Windpower will be responsible for electricity conversion technologies; Alstom Wind will manage the marine structure and substructure segment; Acciona Energía will head construction, operation and maintenance at offshore sites; with Iberdrola Renovables managing the integration of offshore wind energy into the electricity grid.
