Bechtel in floating offshore wind partnership with Hexicon

Image: Hexicon

While most of the focus on U.S. offshore wind development is on U.S. East Coast sites primarily suited to turbines with fixed foundations, California and Hawaii could be key states for wind farms using floating turbines, which can be deployed in deeper waters.

Yesterday, Bechtel announced a partnership with Stockholm, Sweden, based floating wind farm pioneer Hexicon to deliver large-scale offshore floating wind projects along the British coastline and internationally.

Hexicon develops wind power projects in deep water areas based on a patented technology that features a floating platform that holds two turbines. The platform aligns with the wind, resulting in significant increase in energy capacity per area at sea while at the same time reducing the required electrical cable.

“Our technology is one of a handful of solutions that can support deep water offshore wind projects, which will massively increase the potential for offshore wind power generation, said Marcus Thor, CEO of Hexicon. “The U.K. has shown great initiative in this industry and we are delighted to have world-leading construction and engineering company Bechtel to help us deploy our innovative twin turbine floating foundation in British waters. This will be good for the U.K. and beyond, as the world’s demand for clean energy solutions continues to grow exponentially.”

The initial partnership will draw on Bechtel’s engineering, construction, and project financing expertise to develop the design and constructability of the offshore wind facility.

In addition to demonstrating a 35 to 40 MW floating wind project, the team will also establish how the technology could be brought to market, and explore the roles that local suppliers could play in shipbuilding, mooring, and installations, as well as the long-term serving needs of floating offshore wind.

“We are delighted to be supporting Hexicon to bring their important technology to the market, said George Whittaker, Bechtel business development manager. “As a company that has a long history solving complex engineering problems, including in the offshore industries, we are confident that this technology is possible and could be a real game-changer for the renewables market.”