demosath floating wind unit
DemoSATH
16/11/2021
CADEMO
CADEMO
11/11/2021

GEROA

Precommercial Project.

Ikusi euskaraz
 

BILBAO, SPAIN

≤50 MW

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

GEROA (Green Energy Research for Offshore Atlantic) project is expected to be the first offshore wind farm in Spain that will generate up to 50MW of renewable energy, or in other words, the equivalent of supplying energy to 50,000 homes. The farm will be composed of 3 high-capacity (15MW+) wind turbine generators, installed on top of SATH floating offshore wind platforms. The farm's main characteristics are:

  • Up to 50MW of overall capacity.
  • 3 high-capacity turbines (15MW+).
  • Use of Saitec’s SATH solution as floating technology.
  • 6 miles off the coast of Biscay, Spain.
  • Average depth of 130m.
  • Area with high potential to forge a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
  • The selected site is within the Bimep-2 area, included in Spanish MSP for R&D purposes.
  • Starting operations in 2027.
    •  
    GEROA Saitec Offshore Wind park
    GEROA Saitec Offshore Wind park
    GEROA Saitec Offshore Wind park
    GEROA Saitec Offshore Wind park
    casco (2)
    Commitment with HSE
    molino (1)
    Commitment with FOW R&D and it's environmental impact
    biodiversidad
    Commitment with the protection of sea biodiversity
    pesca
    Commitment to bring value to the fisheries and aquaculture sector, as well as to local communities.

    PROJECT OBJETIVES


    • Make a step forward into SATH technology full development reaching TRL8.
    • Demonstration of the technical, environmental and social feasibility of floating offshore wind and specially, of SATH technology.
    • Demonstrate the feasibility of adapting the FOW industry to generate benefits for other sectors such as fisheries, open sea aquaculture and biodiversity conservation.
    • Promote the research in the environmental and social impacts of floating offshore wind.
    • Demonstrate a fully industrialised concrete solution ahead of other floating offshore farms already announced.
    • Installation of the first floating offshore wind farm using large turbines (>15MW).
    • To gain a strategic position in the Iberian and European markets.

    BENEFITS


    • It will be a catalyst for the development of floating offshore wind energy in Spain.
    • The project promotes the development of the Spanish offshore wind supply chain.
    • Boosting employment opportunities across various phases of the project.
    • The project provides to society and offshore wind developers a neutral communication ground which fosters trust among stakeholders, providing good information about environmental impacts and benefits to society associated to offshore wind development
    • Enhancing the energy security of the country by using a renewable energy source.
    • Gain valuable learnings: from the permitting process, environmental impacts to coexistence with different users of the sea.
    • Contributing to the objectives outlined in the Spanish Roadmap for the development of offshore wind and ocean energy, as well as to other European, national, regional, and local policies.
    • Bringing a concreate floating solution to solve the European offshore wind supply chain limitation by reducing the need of steel supply.
     
    Gráfico inglés

    3D RENDERS



    Q&A

    When someone wants to know more about floating wind projects, a lot of questions come up. We try to answer them here, with a collection of questions and answers. Do you have fany other questions or comments?
    If so, feel free to contact us using the form provided

    1How long will be GEROA installed?
    This park is expected to operate for a maximum of 25 years, which corresponds to its entire useful life. Afterwards the wind turbines will be dismantled and removed from the area.
    2What are the differences between GEROA and other projects?
    GEROA is a research and development initiative intended to acquire learning and experience for future developments. GEROA is a park designated as pre-commercial since its capacity does not exceed 50 MW and has reduced dimensions in comparison with other projects; since it will only have 3 units. Its objective is to advance in the development of SATH technology and analyze its social, economic, and environmental, among others impacts.
    3Why GEROA will be installed in this area?
    GEROA follows the path of DemoSATH, our first full-scale unit installed in BiMEP, an open water test area located in Armintza (Bizkaia). One of the main advantages of its location close to DemoSATH, will be that we can apply all the lessons learned. In the Initial Project Document, a specific study has been carried out to select an environmentally viable area for the location of GEROA nearby BiMEP. In this study, great deep areas, protected natural locations, sites located less than 10 km from the coast were excluded to avoid significant impacts on the landscape, submarine cables, areas of intense maritime traffic or areas known to have a greater intensity of fishing.
    4Will GEROA be enlarged in the future?
    No, the expansion is not planned in the future. Note that any commercial offshore wind development in the area would need to be in accordance with the North Atlantic Marine Planning (POEM); and currently the marine planning does not allow commercial wind development in this area.
    5Is GEROA compatible with other activities?
    Yes, in fact one of GEROA's challenges is to demonstrate the viability of shared use with other activities, and particularly offshore fishing and aquaculture. We are analyzing the way in which all of them can coexist so that GEROA is a shared project, with economic benefits for different sectors. To this end, meetings are being held to better understand the point of view of the stakeholders involved, and their comments are being taken into account in the technical proposal that is currently under development.
    6 How will renewable energy be generated?
    The wind turbines have an electrical transmission cable that allows the energy to be transported to the electrical grid, being able to generate clean energy equivalent to the electricity need of 50,000 homes in a year.
    7 How GEROA can contribute to the society?
    GEROA’s expectations go far beyond the generation of clean energy equivalent to the demand of 11% of homes in Bizkaia. The main expected impact is the development and demonstration of a locally produced technology that allows the generation of clean energy at a low economic, social and environmental cost. At the same time, GEROA will be the beginning of the sustainable development of a new industry with great prospects for the coming decades, with a great impact in the local supply chain. Additionally, it will contribute and complement BiMEP, offering the environmental supply chain and research entities an open water experimentation laboratory, which will allow technological research opportunities in areas such as offshore wind energy, fishing, and offshore aquaculture.

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