The UPC design will join pace-setters such as Statoil's Hywind, pictured, in the emerging floating-wind sector

Spain's UPC eyes €120/MWh with cost-slashing floating wind concept

Researchers at Spain's Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) have unveiled a concept for a floating wind turbine they believe could slash the cost of energy (CoE) of deepwater units to €120 ($129) per MWh through a streamlined design and cheaper construction materials.

11 November 2015 14:10 GMT Updated 28 September 2016 9:17 GMT

By Darius Snieckus in London

The WindCrete, a cylindrical, spar-like concrete structure featuring a large float and a ballast base that make it "self stabilising", is designed for turbines between 5-15MW moored in water depths of at least 90 metres.

Climent Molins and Alexis Campos of the UPC Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering say the "main innovations [of the concept] compared to similar ones on the market are the seamless, monolithic structure and the use of concrete for its construction".

Construction

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