Abu Dhabi-headquartered renewables investment group Plambeck Emirates has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italian offshore contractor Saipem to build a 500MW floating wind farm in the Persian Gulf off Saudi Arabia.
Under the MoU, Saipem, which is currently fine-tuning a prototype of its Hexafloat design for a demonstrator off Ireland, will handle engineering, design, construction and installation of the entire development, with turbine OEM “come on board in a later stage” of the project.
The Saudi floating wind farm, the site location for which has not been revealed, is part of Plambeck Emirates’ proposed 5GW New Wind Market concept, which it has put forward for consideration by the authorities in Riyahd.