The 5MW Elisa prototype, Spain’s first offshore wind turbine, has officially been put into operation.
According to the Canarian Association for Renewable Energy, the turbine was commissioned yesterday, 17 March, at the Plocan test site.
To remind, the installation of the full-scale Elisa prototype was completed at the site offshore Gran Canaria at the beginning of July last year.
The self-installing telescopic offshore wind turbine is developed under the EU-funded Elican project carried out by a consortium of Esteyco, Siemens Gamesa, ALE Heavylift, DEWI GmbH, and Plocan.
The project’s goal was to assemble the entire system, including the foundation, tower and wind turbine, and its pre-commissioning under controlled conditions at the Arinaga port, and then tow it to the site using conventional tugs.
This is said to reduce the risks associated with assembly work at sea and cut installation costs by 30% to 40% compared to existing conventional solutions.