Off the coast of Viana do Castelo, Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean, WindFloat Atlantic, the world’s first semi-submersible floating offshore wind farm, has once again demonstrated its remarkable resilience and groundbreaking engineering. This weekend, the project successfully weathered the relentless storm Ciaran, setting new records for handling extreme weather conditions.
Storm Ciaran posed unprecedented challenges, with waves reaching a staggering maximum height of 20 metres and wind gusts of up to 139 kilometres per hour. These extraordinary conditions far surpassed previous project records.
Significant wave heights (Hs) exceeded 10 metres, and the maximum wave height (Hmax) of 20 metres far surpassed the previous record of 11.7 metres held by WindFloat 1 during a 17-metre wave episode.
Wind speeds during the storm were equally exceptional. One of the three WindFloat Atlantic units (WFA-3) recorded a wind gust of 38.8 metres per second (with similar values in the other 2 units), beating the previous project record of 34 metres per second.
The WindFloat Atlantic project’s resilience was on full display during this record-breaking storm. The Operations and Maintenance teams closely monitored the infrastructure to ensure the safety and continuity of clean energy production. This dedication to safety and the ability to withstand extreme weather conditions demonstrate the world-class engineering that underpins this renewable energy project.
As the storm subsides, WindFloat Atlantic continues to stand as a testament to floating offshore wind innovation and environmental responsibility. This remarkable demonstration reaffirms WindFloat Atlantic’s world-class engineering, demonstrating the robustness and readiness of the floating technology for widespread application.
