SBIR Phase I: Detailed Engineering of 100kW Self-Upending Floating Wind Platform

The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is in the development of a next-generation floating wind platform that could dramatically reduce the time, cost, and equipment/vessel requirements of installing commercial-scale floating wind farms. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be over $1 trillion (T) invested in floating offshore wind projects around the world, totaling up to 250 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. A major challenge facing the floating wind industry is the massive size of turbines and floating platforms, prohibiting them from fitting in existing United States (US) port infrastructure. Furthermore, the supply chain is severely constrained as only a few shipyards and port facilities in the world, can build, assemble and load-out these massive structures. The proposed platform solves these challenges because it can be assembled and transported horizontally, significantly reducing the required depth, overhead clearance, and overall footprint. The intellectual merit of the project relates to the development of the upending procedure for an offshore floating platform with a pre-installed turbine. The platform can be assembled and transported in a horizontal position, and then unfolded into its vertical position through an upending process that only uses ballast water. During this project, the upending procedure of the platform with a pre-installed turbine will be studied to determine the optimal design to ensure the turbine can withstand the mechanical forces associated with assembly, transportation, and upending, as well as the materials challenges associated with an offshore environment. In addition, the upending procedure will be modeled in a variety of conditions to determine the maximum weather conditions in which the upending procedure can safely occur. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.