SeeNews
June 17 (SeeNews) - Ideol and Japanese group Hitachi Zosen Corp (TYO:7004) have signed a deal for the design of a concrete and a steel version suitable for Japanese conditions of the French startup’s patented floating foundations.
In March the two companies entered into a cooperation agreement to design, engineer and build floating offshore wind turbines in Japan, using Ideol’s patented Damping Pool floating foundation technology. The latest engineering agreement has been signed in the first week of June and the first series of tank tests are already in progress.
Hitachi Zosen and Ideol aim to complete first installations of the floating foundation versions by end-2017.
Japan is making its baby steps in offshore wind development. The country closed 2014 with an installed wind power capacity of 2,789 MW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), of which less than 50 MW was offshore.
