Projects in Japan and France Seek to Advance Floating Wind Technology

Projects are getting underway in both France and Japan seeking to advance the development of floating wind turbines and support the countries’ efforts to develop renewable power sources. Floating wind turbines are viewed as an important technology that will help to widen the applications for wind power generation to a wider range of geographies and move further offshore. BW Ideol is participating in both projects with its technology for floating foundations for wind turbines seeking to provide additional confirmation for its designs. 

The EolMed partnership, comprising Qair, TotalEnergies, and BW Ideol, reports that it has made the final investment decision for a 30MW offshore floating wind development after confirming financing in part arranged by the European Investment Bank. The bank arranged for more than a quarter of the total cost of the project which is projected at over $300 million. The Mediterranean Sea pilot wind farm is set to become one of the first three floating offshore wind farms in France when it is commissioned in mid-2024.

“This is a major milestone for the EolMed project and for BW Ideol,” said Paul Dupin de la Guérivière, CEO of BW Ideol. “This decision to proceed with the construction and installation of the wind farm reflects years of planning and preparation,” he said while noting it would reinforce floating wind technology in France.

Eolmed will be installed approximately 11 miles off the coastal town of Gruissan, on France’s Mediterranean coast north of the border with Spain. It will consist of three 10MW wind turbines, each mounted on BW Ideol’s patented floating steel foundations and connected to France’s Electricity transmission Network (RTE) by an undersea cable. 

Separately, in Japan, BW Ideol is working with one of the major Japanese utility companies, Tohoku Electric Power Co., to develop a commercial-scale floating wind project in Iwate prefecture, located on the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan's main island. Tohoku is separately participating in several other projects, including onshore and offshore wind power as well as solar power as part of its target of developing 2GW of capacity, centered on wind power.

BW Ideol and Tohoku are initiating the feasibility studies necessary to jointly develop a commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm. The two companies intend to collaborate to contribute to the early commercialization of cost-competitive floating offshore wind power in Japan.

Japan is a very promising market for floating offshore wind technologies due to its geographies according to BW Ideol. They believe that the project will further contribute to the advancement of floating wind power in Japan.