The University of Maine’s VolturnUS floating offshore wind turbine concept has passed muster with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the international classification body, as its Aqua Ventus I project moves towards planned commercial deployment in 2019.
ABS has completed a full design review of the Front End Engineering and Design documentation for the VolturnUS, running the gamut from the hull/tower structure to aeroelastic/hydrodynamic loads, and found the concept meets its requirements, according to UMaine.
“After 10 years of development, this is a major milestone for our programme, and we expect the VolturnUS hull concept to continue to attract private investment from the US and around the world,” says Habib Dagher, executive director at the UMaine Composites Center, which developed the four-column semi-submersible hull concept.
