Building a “Wall” of Offshore Wind
"A system that invites healthy skepticism." That’s how the Chief Technical Officer of a Norwegian company describes its offshore concept: a wall made up of 32 wind turbines.
The article is written by Jan M. Moberg, Technology Editor at Teknisk Ukeblad. Translated into English by GCE Ocean Technology.
There is major investment in offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Most of us picture massive installations – giant rotors with the diameter of a football field, slowly turning atop 150-meter towers.
Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems (WCS) is thinking differently. Instead of a few large turbines, they aim to capture wind energy using 32 smaller turbines arranged in a square frame measuring 200 by 200 meters.
Each turbine has a diameter of 36 meters – considered large in the 1990s, but less striking by today’s standards.
– Everything you see above the water is very lightweight, says CTO Ivar Knutsen at WCS about the concept, which is planned for pilot deployment in Øygarden around 2030.
LISTEN to this interview in the podcast Teknisk Sett by Teknisk Ukeblad.
Key advantages
– We’re often asked why, he says about the project.
Rotor blades on traditional offshore wind turbines are enormous and require heavy, specialized equipment for installation.
By using multiple smaller turbines within a single structure, WCS aims to achieve standardization, easier installation, and simpler maintenance – resulting in less downtime and longer lifespan.
– We don’t need as much spacing between turbines as conventional solutions do. That makes us significantly more space-efficient, delivering more power per square kilometer, says Knutsen.
