Saitec Offshore Technologies and the open sea test site Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) have signed a contract to install DemoSATH project off the Basque Coast. Marine operations are planned by the end of 2021.With a 2MW wind turbine, the structure, which will be approximately 30 metres wide and approximately 67 meters long, will be assembled in the port of Bilbao, Spain. From there, it will be towed to its anchorage point in BiMEP, 2 miles off the coast where the sea is about 85 metres deep.
Main aim of the project is to analyse its behavior under real operational and extreme conditions, collect data and gain real-life knowledge from the construction, operation and maintenance of the unit. The pilot project will last 3 and a half years: 18 months for the planning and construction of the plant, followed by a two-year operating phase.
SATH Technology (Swinging Around Twin Hull) is based on a twin hull made of modularly prefabricated and subsequently braced concrete elements. The float can align itself around a single point of mooring according to the wind and wave direction.
BiMEP is a public company established in 2011 for the development, construction, operation, maintenance and management of an open sea testing centre. Owned by Basque Energy Agency, EVE (75%) and Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and The Demographic Challenge through the Institute for Diversification and Energy Savings, IDAE (25%).