Renewable energy solutions
We are committed to direct our innovative power to energy efficient and emission-less production and transfer of energy offshore. This includes solutions for renewable energy and existing energy related solutions to give answer to the global energy demand. Some of our business-ready solutions are presented below based on our vast experience of offshore production, mooring and transfer systems. In parallel, we invest in production and transfer of high voltage electrical power. Transport of alternative fuels like (compressed) hydrogen, methanol and ammonia are feasible like carbon capture and storage offshore.
Floating Offshore Wind Tension Leg Platform
Building on over 40 years of experience in designing permanently moored systems, Bluewater has developed a Tension Leg Platform (TLP) to support offshore wind turbines. The TLP foundation is lightweight and is not designed for tow-out stability with a wind turbine, but for the support of a wind turbine when installed at site. The system has as an important advantage that it is installed in a phased approach and avoids risks associated with pre-assembled tow-out. Stability on the system is maintained by tension in the mooring lines provided by the buoyancy force of the floater. The mooring lines are tensioned straight between the floater and the anchor points, avoiding contact with the seabed. The system has minimal movements, resulting in substantial advantages for both the wind turbine performance and the power cable. The legs of the floater are situated under the wave zone so that the wave induced mooring loads are minimized. This approach results in the lowest cost of energy for floating offshore wind.
Floating Tidal Energy Converter
Bluewater has developed a system to produce electrical power near-shore by harvesting tidal energy with a floating tidal energy converter. Building on our decades of experience in mooring and transfer systems offshore, we have successfully designed and field demonstrated a floating, tidal energy converter “Bluetec”.
e-buoy
Bluewater has developed the e-buoy, a CALM buoy system that enables offshore transfer of electricity to a vessel. The e-buoy can be used to charge battery-powered wind park support vessels, using the power from the wind park. The system may provide power to moored ships in waiting areas, allowing these ships to switch off diesel generators, eliminating stand-by emissions. The e-buoy is a turret CALM buoy, which is a field-proven, reliable and robust concept, offering protection to the electrical equipment and allowing unrestricted weathervaning of the moored ship.
Floating Solar
Bluewater has developed a floating offshore solar concept that is based on a flexible floater and flexible solar panel technology. The concept has been demonstrated in a small-scale demonstration project on the lake of Oostvoorne. The system consists of multiple individual floaters moored to a shared mooring grid. Every individual floater has a large amount of freedom to move in phase with the waves, keeping the required restoring forces low. The floaters consist of a flexible and air filled double wall fabric. Under low overpressure, this double wall fabric combines excellent local floater stability and with such a low global stiffness that the floater can easily follow the wave profile.
