The 25MW WindFloat Atlantic floating project in Portugal has used the first ever Lankhorst Dyneema DM20 mooring tethers.
According to the project developer Windplus SA, this is the first application of Gama98 Dyneema DM20 fiber ropes as mooring lines.
The three WindFloat 8MW turbines will be moored at a water depth of between 85m to 100m some 20km off the coast from Viana do Castelo.
Mooring systems of the turbines are made up of three catenary mooring lines of Gama98 rope construction made from Dyneema DM20 attached to chain and drag embedded anchors. The soft catenary mooring system will restrain the turbine’s horizontal motions, Windplus said.
The ease of High Modulus Poly-Ethylene (HMPE) rope handling is expected to result in lower costs compared to spiral strand steel wire both during installation and future disconnection. The mooring lines will be pre-laid on the seabed, prior to the arrival of the turbines and connected using platform mooring connectors, the company stated.
“The WindFloat Atlantic Project is a significant mooring project. It marks the first ever use of Gama98 Dyneema DM20 as mooring tethers in any offshore mooring application,” said Alberto Leao , Sales Renewable Energy, Lankhorst Euronete Portugal.
“The mooring characteristics of Gama98 Dyneema DM20 makes it an ideal for offshore mooring projects and places Lankhorst at the forefront as the Fibre World Technological Leader on Mooring.”