Spain’s Canary Islands are better known as a sun-kissed holiday destination than for floating wind and yet three of the most innovative technologies being developed by the sector have – or will soon – grace its waters.

EnerOcean was first in the water in 2019, with its W2Power concept, a distinctive two-turbine design that has been through several incarnations since first being introduced to the market in 2009 as a hybrid offshore wind-wave power machine.

A 40-tonne prototype of the “weathervaning” semisubmersible unit fitted with two generic 100kW-class turbines was trialled off Gran Canaria, with plans for a three-to-five unit development of up to 60MW, dubbed CanArray, as the next step for the technology as it moves to market.

Most recently, Eni-owned clean energy outfit Plenitude took a 25% stake in EnerOcean as part of longer-view plans at the Italian oil major to have some 15GW renewable plant operating globally by the end of the decade.

X1 Wind’s PivotBuoy tension-leg-platform concept, which features a downwind turbine, is next up, with its X30 model — outfitted with an adapted Vestas V29 turbine that “weathervanes” with the wind — set to undertake a one-year trial this summer, with an eye on a first pre-commercial development of up to five 5-6MW units off the Canary Islands “by 2024-25”.

The start-up recently saw transitioning French oil & gas contractor Technip Energies acquire a strategic 16% interest in the concept, as it aims to build a portfolio of sector technology solutions.

Gazelle Wind Power last year raised $4m to help finance a first outing for what it claims is a “game changing” hybrid platform that combines the best of tension-leg and semisubmersible technologies to create a lighter design that it calculates could slash costs by $1.2m per megawatt compared to others in development.

A 2MW pilot is due to be installed off the Canary Islands in the second quarter of next year.

Key advantages cited include “a 70% reduction in the weight of steel, while delivering a highly stable platform with a tilt of less than 1°, together with a 30% cost reduction compared to other floating wind platforms.

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