Windcatcher: Norwegian company develops wind turbine wall

A new type of offshore wind turbine is to be built off the coast of Bergen in Norway. Instead of one large rotor, many smaller rotors will generate electricity. The Norwegian government is funding the project.

Windcatcher is the name of the turbine developed by the Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems. It consists of a scaffold on which numerous wind turbines are mounted. The scaffolding stands on a floating platform that is anchored to the seabed.

The design of the windcatcher is modular. The turbines can therefore be varied in size. The wind turbines are always the same and have an output of one megawatt.

The demonstrator is to have 40 wind turbines

The demonstration plant will have 40 wind turbines, which together will generate 99 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. According to the company, the largest turbine will be around 320 meters high and equipped with 126 wind turbines. It will produce around five times as much electricity as a 15-megawatt wind turbine.

A windcatcher is constructed from handy components that can be mounted on the floating platform. Special ships and cranes, as used in the construction of conventional wind turbines, are not necessary here. The wind turbines are identical so that they can be mass-produced at low cost.

The windcatcher concept represents a new approach for floating offshore wind turbines, says Oskar Gärdeann from the Norwegian funding agency Enova. "With several small rotors, maintenance could be easier and cheaper, and in addition, the area efficiency could be significantly better than with conventional offshore wind technology."

The first wind catcher is to be built northwest of Bergen, outside the municipality of Øygarden. Completion is planned for 2029. The Norwegian government is funding the project with 1.2 billion Norwegian kroner, the equivalent of around 102 million euros. By 2040, it wants to provide space for 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy.

(wpl)