Development of Offshore Wind Turbine Floater that Blends into Japanese Waters - Evaluation of the Validity for Design and Applied Methods for V-shaped Semi-submersible Floating structure -
In the "Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Farm Demonstration Project" in which
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has taken part, the 7MW floating offshore wind turbine
developed by the company was installed off the coast of Fukushima, and its demonstration
operation phase is under way. In this article, concerning the design of V-shaped semi-submersible
floating structure and the adopted construction and mooring method therefor, the actual work in
the stages from construction to installation were reviewed and verified for validity, and based on
the findings obtained from the review and the results of the in-house research that has been
separately conducted, the future commercialization was studied. The verification results showed
that the V-shaped semi-submersible floating structure has the expected performance, construction
properties and mooring workability and offers superior economic efficiency. On the other hand, a
study of future mass production and commercialization revealed that there is plenty of room for the
improvement of the design and comprehensive cost reduction through a review of the mooring
method, construction procedures, etc.
